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Related Experiment Videos

Defining senescence and death.

Howard Thomas1, Helen J Ougham, Carol Wagstaff

  • 1Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth SY23 3EB, UK. sid.thomas@bbsrc.ac.uk

Journal of Experimental Botany
|March 26, 2003
PubMed
Summary
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Plant senescence, a reversible process involving plastid changes, differs fundamentally from programmed cell death (PCD). Senescence requires gene transcription and vacuole activity, distinguishing it from irreversible deterioration.

Area of Science:

  • Plant Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Cellular Processes

Background:

  • Senescence is a terminal developmental event in plants, sharing some features with other developmental processes.
  • Alterations in plastid structure and function during senescence are often reversible, suggesting transdifferentiation rather than deterioration.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate shared and distinct features of leaf and flower senescence compared to other terminal plant developmental events.
  • To differentiate senescence from programmed cell death (PCD) based on reversibility and viability requirements.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of senescence features with other plant developmental events.
  • Investigation of plastid structure and function alterations.
  • Examination of gene transcription, post-transcriptional, and post-translational regulation in senescence.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of vacuole roles in senescing cells.

    • Main Results:

    • Senescence, particularly in leaves and flowers, can be reversible, unlike irreversible deterioration.
    • Reversibility and the essential role of cell viability distinguish senescence from PCD.
    • Senescence involves new gene transcription and is regulated at multiple levels.
    • The vacuole plays critical roles in viability, metabolite accumulation, and eventual cell death during senescence.

    Conclusions:

    • Senescence and PCD are fundamentally distinct processes, with senescence being a plastic, facultative, and potentially reversible event.
    • The vacuole is central to senescence, mediating viability and eventual cell death.
    • While sharing some superficial similarities with apoptosis, plant PCD mechanisms are distantly related to senescence physiology and control.