Cotton fiber growth in planta and in vitro. Models for plant cell elongation and cell wall biogenesis.

There are only a few cells in the plant kingdom that are as exaggerated in their size or composition as cotton fibers. It is precisely their highly elongated structure and exceptional chemical make-up that establishes cotton fiber as an ideal model for studies of plant cell elongation and cell wall biogenesis. Cotton fibers are unicellular, therefore cell elongation can be evaluated independently from cell division. Although commonly called fibers, the more botanically appropriate term is trichome, since these cells are not part of the vascular tissue and arise, instead, from the ovule epidermis.