final Flashcards
(202 cards)
True or false: plant cells have lots of conserved features when compared to animal/fungal cells
True
- conserved organelles, structures (cytoskeleton), metabolism + processes, genes
How are plant cells glued together? What does this result in?
Plant cells are glued together by the cell wall
- no cell migration because of that (differs from animal cells, think of red blood cells, fertilization, etc)
Are there many types of plant cells?
No
~50 types, e.g. mesophyll cells, xylem, phloem.
Describe reprogramming of differentiated plant cells
Differentiated specialized cell -> (reprogram/de-differentiation) -> unspecialized undifferentiated cell, e.g. callus cell -> new cell types, e.g. xylem which can form a whole plant as well.
- can be done in lab or naturally
What is totipotency? Give examples
Ability of cell to divide and produce any cell types
e.g. zygote, spore
Give an example of re-programming of plant cells
Seedlings -> Digest cell wall using enzymes -> single-cell protoplasts (plant cell with the cell wall removed) -> callus culture, undifferentiated clump that is totipotent -> placed in suspension culture -> proembryonic masses form -> somatic embryo forms -> entire plant forms
What is totipotency important for in biotechnology?
Important in the process of making a genetically modified plant
e.g. herbicide resistance.
Describe how transgenic plants used to be made
Plant cells bombarded with DNA-coated particles
- after bombardment, cells that contain the transgene are selected and induced to form complete plants with each of their cells containing the transgene.
What is cytoplasmic streaming? Give an example of where this is seen
circular flow of cytoplasm within cells
E.g. seen in root hairs: lots of absorption into the root hair, which is subsequently absorbed into the vascular tissue.
Describe plant root hair growth in general
Root grows downward and as it’s growing, many root hairs start to grow out.
- lots of movement observed at the tip of the root hair
What drives cytoplasmic streaming? Give an example of cytoplasmic streaming (an organelle)
Organelle movement
- driven by myosin, motor on actin filaments
E.g.: Golgi stack movement
What do the plant Golgi stacks move along?
Actin filaments that are associated with ER
Describe the model for ER-to-Golgi vesicle transport in plant cells
Myosin moves Golgi stack on actin filaments as ER have anterograde movement towards Golgi.
What is the fastest myosin? Describe how it moves
Plant myosin XI, movement drives cytoplasmic streaming
- takes 35 mm steps (1 helical turn in actin per step, if it was > or < 35 mm, actin filament would be rotating)
Describe chloroplast movement in dim light
Chloroplasts align perpendicular to the direction of light
- chloroplasts are trying to maximize the amount of light they absorb
Describe chloroplast movement in bright light
Chloroplasts align parallel to the direction of light
- try to hide a little bit to absorb light but not too much
What allows chloroplasts to detect surrounding light levels? What allows for their movement?
Chloroplasts have blue light receptors on their surface.
- actin filaments pull chloroplasts away from intense blue light.
What cytoskeleton elements do plants have?
- microtubules
- actin filaments (aka microfilaments)
- no intermediate filaments
True or false: plant cells have dynein
False
- plant cells only have myosin and kinesin
True or false: plants have centrioles and centrosomes
False, because they have no cilia or flagella
What is a MTOC on plant cells and where are they located?
MTOC - microtubule organizing center
- on nuclear envelopes/plasma membrane in plants
What are the 4 microtubule arrays (organization/distribution of microtubules) in plants?
- Cortical array - in the cortex region, only array present in interphase. These microtubules are located just beneath the plasma membrane, running parallel to the cell surface. Cortical microtubules are involved in guiding the deposition of cellulose microfibrils during cell wall synthesis and determining cell shape.
- Pre-prophase band of microtubules
- Mitotic spindle
- Phragmoplast - important in cell division as well
What is plasmodesmata? What are they important for?
- Cytoplasmic connections between adjacent cells.
- important in moving small (more passively) and large (more selectively) molecules
- important for cell-cell communication
- found in most cell types
What is meant by “plant cells are supercellular organisms”?
All plant cell cytoplasms are connected.