Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2025
05:54
Author Spotlight: Microscopic Analysis of Protein Localization at Plasmodesmata in Plants
Published on: November 1, 2024
2.1K
Plant plasmodesmata bridges form through ER-dependent incomplete cytokinesis
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|October 28, 2024
Summary
Plant cells form plasmodesmata through incomplete division, creating communication bridges. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stabilizes these crucial structures, preventing closure and ensuring intercellular connections.
Area of Science:
- Plant Biology
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Plant cells divide incompletely, forming plasmodesmata for intercellular communication, essential for multicellularity.
- The molecular mechanisms stabilizing plasmodesmata during cell division are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the molecular events and structural role of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in stabilizing plasmodesmata during plant cell division.
- To investigate the function of ER-PM tethers in plasmodesmata formation.
Main Methods:
- High-resolution electron tomography was used to visualize the transition from cell plate fenestrae to plasmodesmata.
- Genetic analysis in Arabidopsis was performed to assess the role of specific genes in plasmodesmata formation.
Main Results:
- The ER was observed to connect daughter cells across fenestrae, preventing their fusion and guiding plasmodesmata formation.
- Maturation of the cell plate leads to fenestrae contraction, with the plasma membrane molding around ER tubes.
- ER-PM tethers (MCTP3, 4, and 6) were identified as critical for stabilizing nascent plasmodesmata.
- Genetic deletion of these tethers in Arabidopsis resulted in reduced plasmodesmata formation.
Conclusions:
- The endoplasmic reticulum plays a vital structural role in stabilizing plasmodesmata during incomplete plant cell division.
- ER-PM tethers are essential for securing plasmodesmata during the contraction of cell plate fenestrae.
- These findings reveal a novel mechanism by which plants ensure intercellular communication through controlled division.
Related Concept Videos
02:32Plasmodesmata
32.4K
The organs in a multicellular organism’s body are made up of tissues formed by cells. To work together cohesively, cells must communicate. One way that cells communicate is through direct contact with other cells. The points of contact that connect adjacent cells are called intercellular junctions.
32.4K
01:59The Phragmoplast
5.0K
Cell division is essential for organismal growth and development. In animal cells, the central spindle and its associated proteins form the midbody, a structure that has an essential role in cytokinesis. In plants, the central spindle, along with the microtubules, actin, and other cell components, matures into the phragmoplast, which is necessary for cytokinesis. Unlike the stationary midbody, the phragmoplast expands centrifugally, eventually leading to the formation of the new cell wall.
The...
The...
5.0K
01:19Contact-dependent Signaling
44.4K
Contact-dependent signaling, as the name suggests, requires that communicating cells be in direct contact with each other. This is achieved either through receptor-ligand interactions or by specialized cytoplasmic channels that allow the flow of small molecules between cells. In animal cells, channels called gap junctions facilitate contact-dependent signaling in certain tissues, whereas, plasmodesmata perform a similar function in plants.
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...
44.4K
02:03Mitosis and Cytokinesis
235.0K
In eukaryotes, the cell division cycle is divided into distinct, coordinated cellular processes that include cell growth, DNA replication/chromosome duplication, chromosome distribution to daughter cells, and finally, cell division. The cell cycle is tightly regulated by its regulatory systems as well as extracellular signals that affect cell proliferation.
The processes of the cell cycle occur over approximately 24 hours (in typical human cells) and in two major distinguishable stages. The...
The processes of the cell cycle occur over approximately 24 hours (in typical human cells) and in two major distinguishable stages. The...
235.0K
01:14Cell Adhesion in Plants
2.6K
Plants have rigid cell walls that are made up of cell wall polysaccharides that mediate cell-cell adhesion. The primary cell walls of plants consist of two independent and interacting polysaccharide networks: a pectin matrix that embeds the second network comprising cellulose and hemicelluloses.
Pectins are complex heteropolymers mainly composed of negatively-charged α-D-glucopyranosyl uronic acid and some neutral glycosyl residues such as α-L-rhamnopyranose, α-L-arabinofuranose,...
Pectins are complex heteropolymers mainly composed of negatively-charged α-D-glucopyranosyl uronic acid and some neutral glycosyl residues such as α-L-rhamnopyranose, α-L-arabinofuranose,...
2.6K
01:02Role of Microtubules in Cell Wall Deposition
2.3K
Microtubules are small hollow tubes in eukaryotic cells. The cell wall microtubules are polymerized dimers of two globular proteins, α-tubulin and β-tubulin, two globular proteins. With a diameter of about 25 nm, microtubules are the widest components of the cytoskeleton. They help the cell resist compression and provide a track along which vesicles move through the cell or pull replicated chromosomes to opposite ends of a dividing cell. Microtubules go through quick cycles of...
2.3K