Plant Cell: Overview

Fiona Doris, University College, Dublin, Ireland
Martin Steer, University College, Dublin, Ireland

Published online: April 2001

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0001671

Although plant cells share the same eukaryotic ancestor cells as animal cells, and hence bear strong resemblance to one another, there are many differences between the two. These differences reflect the distinct structural, developmental and environmental pressures which plant cells experience and include the presence of cell walls, differences in membrane structure and changes to the endomembrane system and structures associated with cell division.

Keywords: plant cell biology; plant molecular biology; plant genetics

Figure 1. Diagram of a generalized cell cut open to show the three-dimensional structure of the main components. These are not drawn to scale, nor are their relative numbers representative of a plant cell. D, dictyosome, with numbered sequence of vesicles undergoing exocytosis (1–5); RER, rough endoplasmic reticulum; SER, smooth endoplasmic reticulum; M, mitochondria; MB, microbody; MT, microtubule; N, nucleus; NP, nuclear pore; NU, nucleolus; PD, plasmodesmata; P, plastid; PS, polysome; ST, starch; V, vacuole; VE, vesicle. Reproduced with permission from Gunning and Steer (1996).
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 Further Reading
    Battey NH and Blackbourne HD (1993) The control of exocytosis in plants. New Phytologist 125: 307–338.
    book Brennicke A and Kück U eds (1993) Plant Mitochondria. Weinheim: VCH.
    Cassab GI (1998) Plant cell wall proteins. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology 49: 281–309.
    Chrispeels MJ (1991) Sorting of proteins in the secretory system. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology 42: 21–53.
    Fowler JE and Quatrano RS (1997) Plant cell morphogenesis: plasma membrane interactions with the cytoskeleton and cell wall. Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology 13: 697–743.
    Ghoshroy S, Lartey R, Sheng J and Citovsky V (1997) Transport of proteins and nucleic acids through plasmodesmata. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology 48: 27–50.
    book Gunning BES and Steer MW (1996) Plant Cell Biology: Structure and Function. Boston: Jones and Bartlett.
    Hanmaker B, Barber J and Boekema EJ (1997) Structure and membrane organisation of photosystem II from green plants. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology 48: 641–671.
    Leon P, Arryo A and Mackenzie S (1998) Nuclear control of plastid and mitochondrial development in higher plants. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology 49: 453–480.
    book Mauseth JD (1998) Botany: an Introduction to Plant Biology, 2nd edn. Boston: Jones and Bartlett.
    book Moore R, Clark WD and Vodopich DS (1998) Botany, 2nd edn. New York: WCB/McGraw-Hill.
    Nick P (1998) Signalling to the microtubular cytoskeleton in plants. International Reviews of Cytology 184: 33–80.
    Olsen LJ and Harada JJ (1995) Peroxisomes and their assembly in higher plants. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology 48: 123–146.
    Robinson DG, Hinz G and Holstein SHE (1998) The molecular characterisation of transport vesicles. Plant Molecular Biology 38: 49–76.
    Schnell DJ (1998) Protein targetting to the thylakoid membrane. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology 49: 97–126.
    Smith AM, Denyer K and Martin C (1997) The synthesis of the starch granule. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology 48: 67–87.
    Staehelin LA and Moore I (1995) The plant golgi apparatus: structure, functional organisation and trafficking mechanism. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology 46: 261–288.

Related Sub-Topics:

General Cell Biology | Plant Cell Differentiation | Plant Cell Growth | General Plant Science
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Article Title: Plant Cell: Overview
 
How to Cite close
Doris, Fiona, and Steer, Martin(Apr 2001) Plant Cell: Overview. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0001671]