Silicon (Si) is the second most abundant element on earth crust, consisting primarily of silicate minerals. Si is found in the tissues of almost all terrestrial plants and is mostly deposited in specialized cells or cell walls as amorphous silica. Numerous discoveries have shown that in addition to non-covalent interactions through amorphous silica, Si can form covalent bonds with plant cell wall components such as hemicelluloses, pectin and lignin. The covalent bonds may be formed via Si-O-C linkages between monosilicic acid (H4SiO4) and cis-diols of cell wall polysaccharides or lignin. The covalently bound organosilicon, independent of amorphous inorganic silica, may play a crucial role in plant cell wall structure and remodeling and thus plant growth and its resistance against biotic and abiotic stresses. This review discusses the existing research on the discovery of plant silicon-cell wall complexes and proposes a model of their covalent bond formation and biofunction.
Keywords: Interaction; Organosilicon; Plant cell wall; Silicon; Stress resistance.
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