Endoreduplication and Cell‐size Control in Plants

Christian Breuer, John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK
Keiko Sugimoto‐Shirasu, John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK

Published online: July 2007

DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0020097

Endoreduplication involves replication of chromosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) without intervening mitoses. Endoreduplication and resulting high ploidy have often been correlated with an increase in cell size. Cell size is determined by highly dynamic, intersecting signalling pathways in plants, and the nuclear–cytoplasmic ratio is likely to provide a minimum constraint for this control.

Keywords: endoreduplication; cell-size control; cell growth; cell differentiation; cell cycle

Figure 1. Cell size is closely correlated with ploidy in the leaf epidermis of Arabidopsis thaliana. Nuclei are stained with 4¢6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI). Scale Bar, 100 m in a large panel, 10 m in insets.
Figure 2. Structure of polytene and polyploidy chromosomes. (a) Sister chromatids remain closely associated at the centromere in a polytene cell. (b) Sister chromatids separate after each replication cycle in a polyploidy cell.
Figure 3. Two distinct cell cycle progressions observed during plant vegetative development. (a) During the normal mitotic cell cycle, cells undergo sequential phases of DNA replication (S phase) and chromosome segregation (mitosis, M phase) that are preceded by gap phases, G1 and G2, respectively. (b) In endocycle, cells rereplicate DNA in the absence of intervening mitoses, doubling ploidy beyond 4C.
Figure 4. Arabidopsis mutants that have defects in trichome development help us understand the molecular mechanisms that control endocycle. Light micrographs of fully mature trichomes (top panels) and their DAPI-stained nuclei (bottom panels). WT, wild-type; try, triptychon; rfi, rastafari; kak2, kaktus 2; bin4-1, brassinosteroid insensitive 4-1. Scale Bar, 100 m.
Figure 5. A schematic model of key processes that regulate plant cell size. In plants, cell growth contributes relatively little in increasing cell size, and cells enlarge primarily by cell expansion. The final size of plant cells is also influenced by a global feedback mechanism called total organ-size checkpoint.
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    Edgar BA and Orr-Weaver TL (2001) Endoreplication cell cycles: more for less. Cell 105: 297–306.
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Related Sub-Topics:

Basic Cell Biology, Protein, RNA and DNA | Cell Cycle | Plant Cell Growth | Plant Genetics and Molecular Biology
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Article Title: Endoreduplication and Cell‐size Control in Plants
 
How to Cite close
Breuer, Christian, and Sugimoto‐Shirasu, Keiko(Jul 2007) Endoreduplication and Cell‐size Control in Plants. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0020097]