An international team of researchers has found that wood can respond to gravity and change shape through the mechanical properties of its cell walls — a kind of hidden "muscle" that allows trees to straighten themselves, infohub.kz reports.
Specialists at the International Research Center for Forestry and Wood examined the physiological mechanisms that let trees hold a vertical position. According to SciTechDaily, a special type of wood — reaction wood — plays a key role. This tissue works on the principle of skeletal muscles in animals: as it grows, it builds up high internal stress.
It turned out that the structure of cellulose microfibrils is reconfigured when reaction wood forms. Depending on the plant species, the cell walls either contract or expand, forcing the trunk or branches to bend in the required direction. This mechanism helps a tree effectively withstand wind loads, the weight of snow and changes in terrain.
The findings open new prospects for forestry and biomimetics. Understanding the molecular mechanism behind the plant "muscle" will allow scientists to breed wood species with specified mechanical properties. In addition, the principles behind how reaction tissue works could be applied in developing new flexible and durable biomaterials for construction.