Cell walls: structures and signals.

Cell walls harbor proteins and polysaccharides able to condition the development of a plant. In the past year, genes and enzymes modulating the composition and physical properties of walls have been characterized, and wall composition has been linked to the way a cell interacts with another cell, and to the way in which it differentiates. The sum of the signaling and physical activities of a cell wall may explain much about the control of development.