Plasmodesmata enable multicellularity: new insights into their evolution, biogenesis, and functions in development and immunity

Jacob O Brunkard; Patricia C Zambryski

doi:10.1016/j.pbi.2016.11.007

Plasmodesmata enable multicellularity: new insights into their evolution, biogenesis, and functions in development and immunity

Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2017 Feb:35:76-83. doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2016.11.007. Epub 2016 Nov 24.

Authors

Jacob O Brunkard¹, Patricia C Zambryski²

Affiliations

¹ Plant Gene Expression Center, USDA Agricultural Research Service, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710, USA.
² Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Electronic address: zambrysk@berkeley.edu.

PMID: 27889635
DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2016.11.007

Abstract

Plant cells are connected by plasmodesmata (PD), cytosolic bridges that allow molecules to freely move across the cell wall. Recently resolved relationships among land plants and their algal relatives reveal that land plants evolved PD independently from algae. Proteomic and genetic screens illuminate new dimensions of the structural and regulatory pathways that control PD biogenesis. Biochemical studies demonstrate that immunological signals induce systemic defenses by moving from diseased cells through PD; subsequently, PD transport is restricted to quarantine diseased cells. Here, we review our expanding knowledge of the roles of PD in plant development, physiology, and immunity.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Biological Evolution*
Organelle Biogenesis*
Plant Development
Plant Immunity
Plant Physiological Phenomena*
Plasmodesmata / physiology*