The cell surface – A new journal for transkingdom cell wall research

The majority of cells and cell types on the Earth are encased in a cell wall. For these organisms their walls are normally absolutely essential for life and viability, and not surprisingly therefore, a lot of evolutionary attention has been focused on building resilient protective cell walls. Cell walls define and encode physical, structural, biochemical, physiological, ecological and immunological information and therefore a lot of biological research emerges through studies of cell walls. The cell wall, as the natural interface between the cell and its immediate environment, is the theatre of a great deal of biological interactions. Cell walls are also the sink of a large percentage of the organic carbon in the biosphere and the recycling of cell wall materials drives the major nutrient cycles of the planet. Translational research scientists in this area are engaged in the search for cell wall inhibitors and in methods to exploit natural biosynthetic and bioconversion processes of cell wall materials in pharmaceutical, agrochemical and biotechnology industries.

There are a myriad of new journals being launched around the world and it is not unreasonable to ask why we need yet another one...