Plant Cell Walls

Dr. Geitmann investigates the role of the cell wall in plant reproduction and development. Her research focuseson the cellular processes that lead to the formation of plant organs and functional tissues. She holds the CanadaResearch Chair in Biomechanics of Plant Development and leads an interdisciplinary team of biologists andengineers. Dr. Geitmann's research combines cell biology with engineering methodology and mathematicalconcepts to reveal how the cell wall deforms during cell growth and to detect the forces involved. Her team hasdeveloped sophisticated experimental and computational tools enabling researchers to study questions such ashow the pollen tube delivers the sperm cells during reproduction in plants and how plant cells change shape togenerate tissues with various functionalities.Dr. Geitmann is the editor of the books 'Pollen and Pollen Tube Biology' (2020), 'Plant Biomechanics - FromStructure to Function at Multiple Scales' (2018), 'Cell Biology of Plant and Fungal Tip Growth' (2001). Shepublished 100+ journal articles and book chapters, and she has supervised more than 100 trainees. She hasorganised numerous international conferences and workshops including a NATO Workshop on 'Tip Growth',joint meetings between the American and Canadian Societies of Plant Biology, the '9th International PlantBiomechanics Conference', and international workshops on 'Cell Wall Mechanics' and 'Multiscale Modeling ofCell Wall Mechanics and Growth in Walled Cells' hosted by the Banff International Research Station. She isfrequently solicited to serve on the scientific advisory committees of international conferences on the plant cellwall.In 2013-2015, she served as President of the Microscopical Society of Canada and she was the President of theCanadian Society of Plant Biologists in 2015-2017. She served as the President of the International Associationof Plant Reproduction Research in 2018-2022, and she is a member of the editorial and advisory boards ofmultiple scientific journals including Cell, Plant Physiology, and Journal of Experimental Botany.Anja Geitmann obtained her PhD in Environmental Biology in 1997 from the University of Siena (Italy),following undergraduate and graduate studies in biology at the University of Constance (Germany), OregonState University (USA), and Stockholm University (Sweden). Between 1997 and 2001 she performedpostdoctoral research at the Université Laval, Québec, and at the University of Wageningen, The Netherlands.From 2001 to 2015 she was Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences of the Université de Montréaland Scientist at the Institut de recherche en biologie végétale. She taught Plant Anatomy, Microscopy, andScientific Communication at undergraduate and graduate levels. In 2015 Dr. Geitmann was appointed as theDean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environment

• 1 - Plant cell walls – past, present, and future2 - Plant cell wall glycosyltransferases: from sequence to structure and function3 - Nucleotide sugars and the transporters that put them at the right place4 - Enzymic and non-enzymic remodelling of cell-wall polysaccharides5 - Reconsidering pectin structure – a historical perspective informed by studies of the biosynthetic enzymes6 - Cell wall-related mechanisms underlying plant cell expansion7 - Role of the cell wall in the regulation of fruit ripening8 - NMR studies on cellulose and plant cell walls9 - Adoption of evolving technologies to define cell wall biology in the grasses: A brief but unfinished history10 - Plant cell wall glycan-directed monoclonal antibodies11 - Conceptual models of the plant cell wall12 - The glycomic code of the plant cell wall: How structure leads to function13 - We all stand together: An exploration of the drivers and constraints that have shaped plant and algal cell wall diversity14 - Hydrophobisation of cell walls by cutin, suberin and associated waxes15 - Shapeshifters: functional interplays between plant cell walls and dynamic, reversible shape changes in plant cells and tissues16 - The biology of arabinogalactan proteins in plant abiotic stress and reproduction17 - Root cell walls and secretions: a role in the plant's relationship with its surrounding soil microbiome18 - Plant cell wall integrity maintenance19 - Cell wall signalling in plants20 - The ancient battle between plants and pathogens: Resilience of the plant cell wall and damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) drive plant immunity21 - Cell wall polysaccharide matrix dynamics during wood development22 - Drying out walls: How do the cell walls of resurrection plants survive desiccation?23 - The middle lamella between anthropic and evolutionary contexts24 - The compound middle lamella as a target for improved deconstruction of woody biomass25 - Cytokinesis and the formation of a new cell wall