Plasmodesmata: intercellular tunnels facilitating transport of macromolecules in plants

In plants, intercellular structures named plasmodesmata (PD) form a continuous cytoplasmic network between neighboring cells. PD pores provide channels for intercellular symplasmic (cell-to-cell) transport throughout most tissues of the plant body. Cell-defining proteins, such as transcription factors, and regulatory non-coding sequences, such as short interfering RNA, micro RNA, protein-encoding messenger RNAs, viroids, and viral RNA/DNA genomes move via PD channels to adjacent cells. PD-mediated intercellular transport of macromolecules is a regulated process depending on the tissue, developmental stage, and nature of the transported macromolecule. In this review, PD channels and their similarity to tunneling nanotubes present in animals are highlighted. In addition, homeodomain protein movement and cellular components regulating transport are discussed.