Tapping into the mechanical links of expansins in leaf morphogenesis

Expansins are conserved family of non-enzymatic proteins involved in cell wall-loosening accounted for widespread role in plant development. My research focuses on functional analysis of expansins during leaf morphogenesis. Atomic force microscopy was applied to characterise cell wall mechanical properties in an attempt for in vivo quantification of expansin activity. It’s showed how that there is a distinct difference in cell wall extensibility between leaf abaxial and adaxial side.