Cell Differentiation in Plants

Plant differentiation refers to the maturation of root, cambium, apical meristem, and shoot cells in order for them to perform specific activities. Within the plant cell, this process involves a lot of structural changes. For example, protoplasm is lost when the tracheary parts of a plant are created.

Cell Differentiation

The process by which a cell experience changes in gene expression to be a more particular form of system is expressed as cell differentiation or cellular differentiation. Multicellular animals can generate cell types and body architectures that are uniquely functional thanks to cell differentiation. The process of cell differentiation is influenced by genetics and their interaction with the environment.

Every organism initiates with a single cell. This single cell has the DNA that codes for all of the proteins that will be used by the adult organism. This cell, on the other hand, would not be functioning if it produced all of these proteins at the same time. This cell must split several times, and each time it divides, the cells should start a process of cell differentiation. The cell lines start to appear, and the cells become increasingly specialised. This process of cell differentiation eventually results in the formation of a whole organism with hundreds of different types of cells.

Stem cells are the primordial mass of cells that have not undergone differentiation. In contrast to normal cell division, that produces 2 similar (identical) daughter cells, stem cell division is asymmetric. One of the cells in this situation is identical to parent stem cell. Chemical triggers initiate cell differentiation in the other cell, and the cell begins to produce the DNA of a certain cell type. Embryonic stem cells are totipotent stem cells that have the ability to differentiate into complete animals.

Cell Differentiation in plants

In plants, differentiation refers to the mechanisms through which separate cell types emerge from precursor cells by becoming distinct from one another. Plants have roughly a 12 basic types of cells that are necessary for their survival and regular functioning. Sexual reproduction necessitates the addition of additional cell types. Plant cell types are extremely varied, despite the fact that their basic diversity is minimal when compared to animal cell types.

Differentiation Process in Plants

Plants belong to a separate kingdom, and their differentiation and development processes differ from those of other kingdoms. Differentiation and the development occur in plants in different ways than in animals. The process by which cells in the root system’s shoot apical meristem and Cambium mature to execute specialised roles is described as plant differentiation.

Cellular differentiation, to put it another way, is the process by which a cell transforms from one type of cell to another.

This transformation mostly results in the formation of a more specialised type of cell.

Cells undergo structural changes in both their protoplasm and cell wall throughout differentiation processes. The cell, for example, would shed its protoplasm in order to become a tracheary element. Aside from that, they build a lignocellulosic cell wall that allows them to carry water and minerals under harsh temperatures.

It’s also known as the separation of different cell types from their precursor cells, that causes them to become distinct from one another. Plants have various types of fundamental cells, each of which is important for the basic functioning of the plants.

Depending on the functions, one type of cell can be changed into another under the right conditions.

Differentiation Cells in Plants Examples

Trichomes

Plants like Arabidopsis have unique branched unicellular trichomes that originate from undistinguished protoderm progenitor cells. These precursor cells begin the differentiation process by initiating deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) production without cytokinesis, resulting in trichome precursors with eight to 16 times the amount of DNA found in neighbouring pavement cells. Trichomes precursors then begin to expand in a plane normal to the epidermis, resulting in a tubular extension. The nucleus tends to move from the stalk’s base to its tip utilising the cytoskeleton of the cell to drag it to a new site once the stalk is produced.

The cell wall of the trichome then bursts out at three points, generating the three trichome branches. When the trichome cell has grown to its full size and shape, it thickens its cell wall and deposits sharp calcium oxalate crystals on the surface, increasing its efficiency in herbivore defence.

Vessel Elements

The procambium cells develop into vessel components. Because vessel elements expand more than their neighbours, they are distinguished from other procambial cells first. The thickened, lignified sections of the cell walls of vessel element precursors are then deposited in a ringlike, netlike, helical, or pitted pattern. The pattern is predicted based on the placement of cytoskeleton elements inside the cytoplasm that assist in guiding the wall precursor to correct spot. When the cell wall synthesis is completed, unique wall-degrading enzymes attack the cell’s end walls, generating a perforation between adjacent vessel parts. Finally, the vessel elements die in a controlled manner. Protease and nuclease enzymes are produced by the cell and degrade proteins and nucleic acids to their basic components.

Conclusion

In plants, differentiation is the mechanisms through which separate cell types emerge from precursor cells by becoming different from one another. 

Differentiation is a process in which plants undergo a succession of qualitative changes. It is a systematic shift where structurally simple and genetically similar cells become specialised for specific functions and produce the many tissues and organs of a plant. Differential activation of a cell’s DNA causes the shift into specialised cells.