Mechano-chemical regulation of complex cell shape formation: Epidermal pavement cells—A case study

All plant cells are encased by walls, which provide structural support and control their morphology. How plant cells regulate the deposition of the wall to generate complex shapes is a topic of ongoing research. Scientists have identified several model systems, the epidermal pavement cells of cotyledons and leaves being an ideal platform to study the formation of complex cell shapes. These cells indeed grow alternating protrusions and indentations resulting in jigsaw puzzle cell shapes. How and why these cells adopt such shapes has shown to be a challenging problem to solve, notably because it involves the integration of molecular and mechanical regulation together with cytoskeletal dynamics and cell wall modifications. In this review, we highlight some recent progress focusing on how these processes may be integrated at the cellular level along with recent quantitative morphometric approaches.