Developing a ‘thick skin’: a paradoxical role for mechanical tension in maintaining epidermal integrity?

Plant aerial epidermal tissues, like animal epithelia, act as load-bearing layers and hence play pivotal roles in development. The presence of tension in the epidermis has morphogenetic implications for organ shapes but it also constantly threatens the integrity of this tissue. Here, we explore the multi-scale relationship between tension and cell adhesion in the plant epidermis, and we examine how tensile stress perception may act as a regulatory input to preserve epidermal tissue integrity and thus normal morphogenesis. From this, we identify parallels between plant epidermal and animal epithelial tissues and highlight a list of unexplored questions for future research.