image:Phragmoplast.png, 300px, Phragmoplast and cell plate formation in a plant cell during cytokinesis. Left side: Phragmoplast forms and cell plate starts to assemble in the center of the cell. Towards the right: Phragmoplast enlarges in a donut-shape towards the outside of the cell, leaving behind mature cell plate in the center. The cell plate will transform into the new cell wall once cytokinesis is complete.
Cytokinesis in embryophyte, terrestrial plants occurs by cell plate formation. This process entails the delivery of
Golgi-derived and endosomal vesicles carrying [
ell wall and
cell membrane
The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane (PM) or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of all cells from the outside environment ( ...
components to the plane of
cell division
Cell division is the process by which a parent cell divides into two daughter cells. Cell division usually occurs as part of a larger cell cycle in which the cell grows and replicates its chromosome(s) before dividing. In eukaryotes, there ar ...
and the subsequent fusion of these vesicles within this plate.
After formation of an early tubulo-vesicular network at the center of the cell, the initially labile cell plate consolidates into a tubular network and eventually a fenestrated sheet. The cell plate grows outward from the center of the cell to the parental plasma membrane with which it will fuse, thus completing
cell division
Cell division is the process by which a parent cell divides into two daughter cells. Cell division usually occurs as part of a larger cell cycle in which the cell grows and replicates its chromosome(s) before dividing. In eukaryotes, there ar ...
. Formation and growth of the cell plate is dependent upon the
phragmoplast
image:Phragmoplast.png, 300px, Phragmoplast and cell plate formation in a plant cell during cytokinesis. Left side: Phragmoplast forms and cell plate starts to assemble in the center of the cell. Towards the right: Phragmoplast enlarges in a donut- ...
, which is required for proper targeting of
Golgi-derived vesicles to the cell plate.
As the cell plate matures in the central part of the cell, the
phragmoplast
image:Phragmoplast.png, 300px, Phragmoplast and cell plate formation in a plant cell during cytokinesis. Left side: Phragmoplast forms and cell plate starts to assemble in the center of the cell. Towards the right: Phragmoplast enlarges in a donut- ...
disassembles in this region and new elements are added on its outside. This process leads to a steady expansion of the phragmoplast and, concomitantly, to a continuous retargeting of
Golgi-derived vesicles to the growing edge of the cell plate. Once the cell plate reaches and fuses with the plasma membrane the
phragmoplast
image:Phragmoplast.png, 300px, Phragmoplast and cell plate formation in a plant cell during cytokinesis. Left side: Phragmoplast forms and cell plate starts to assemble in the center of the cell. Towards the right: Phragmoplast enlarges in a donut- ...
disappears. This event not only marks the separation of the two daughter cells, but also initiates a range of biochemical modifications that transform the
callose
Callose is a plant polysaccharide. Its production is due to the glucan synthase-like gene (GLS) in various places within a plant. It is produced to act as a temporary cell wall in response to stimuli such as stress or damage. Callose is composed ...
-rich, flexible cell plate into a
cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell w ...
-rich, stiff primary [
ell wall.
The heavy dependence of cell plate formation on active
Golgi stacks explains why plant cells, unlike animal cells, do not disassemble their secretion machinery during cell division.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cell Plate
Cell cycle
Mitosis
Plant cells