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In this talk, I will discuss how the recent spectacular advances in super-resolution microscopy, optogenetics, and biochemical multiplexing can be harvested to cross new spatial and temporal barriers in studying the complex processes of cell expansion.

Plant growth is a complex hierarchical process that remains intangible. The growing plant cell has to remodel the surrounding primary cell wall that restricts its volumetric growth. What are the rudimentary changes in the cell wall, and how do the cell sense the cell wall's structure and chemistry remain mostly unanswered questions. Recently we discovered that the cell wall has innate expansion capacity linked to chemical changes of one polysaccharide (Homogalacturonans), shifting the current paradigm. Furthermore, growth occurs at fast temporal (sec-min) and small spatial scales. Recent advance in cell wall integrity signaling mediated by the family of kinase-like receptors and small peptides indicates potential actors in the cell wall sensing process during expansion. Yet current toolbox in plant science studies is not adapted to study dynamic molecular processes in vivo. We will present our approach to solving this technical and scientific conundrum.