OxTalks will soon move to the new Halo platform and will become 'Oxford Events.' There will be a need for an OxTalks freeze. This was previously planned for Friday 14th November – a new date will be shared as soon as it is available (full details will be available on the Staff Gateway).
In the meantime, the OxTalks site will remain active and events will continue to be published.
If staff have any questions about the Oxford Events launch, please contact halo@digital.ox.ac.uk
The puzzle-shaped cells that appear in the epidermis of many plants are a striking example of a complex cell shape. Since shape in an organism is often thought to be closely related to its function, it suggests that these unusual shapes must have some functional benefit to the plant. We propose that the creation of these complex shapes is an effective
strategy to reduce mechanical stress in the cell wall. Although the formation of these shapes requires highly anisotropic and non-uniform
growth at the sub-cellular level, it appears to be triggered by isotropic growth at the organ level. Analysis of cell shape over
multiple species is consistent with the idea that the puzzle is in response to a developmental constraint, and that the mechanism is like
to be conserved among higher plants.
