Root Hairs as a Model System for Studying Plant Cell Growth

Root hairs are tip-growing projections that form on specialized epidermal cells. Physiological studies are identifying key transporters required for hair growth, and drug studies have been instructive in defining the role of the cytoskeleton in cell morphogenesis. Genetic analysis is identifying proteins involved in cell growth and the phenotypes of the mutants are instructive in defining the precise function of these proteins in cellular morphogenesis. Recent progress in our understandings of cell growth using the arabidopsis root hair as a model system is reviewed.