Is internucleosomla DNA fragmentation an indicator of programmed death in plant cells?

Specific DNA fragmentation into oligonucleosomal units occurs during programmed cell death (PCD) in both animal and plant cells, usually being regarded as an indicator of its apoptotic character. This internucleosomal DNA fragmentation is demonstrated in tobacco suspension and leaf cells, which were...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of experimental botany Vol. 59; no. 8; pp. 2233 - 2240
Main Authors Kuthanova, Andrea, Opatrny, Zdenek, Fischer, Lukas
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford University Press 01.01.2008
Subjects
Animal cells
Apoptosis
Cell death
Cell lines
Cultured cells
DNA fragmentation
Freezing
Liquid nitrogen
Plant cells
Research Papers
Vacuoles
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Summary:Specific DNA fragmentation into oligonucleosomal units occurs during programmed cell death (PCD) in both animal and plant cells, usually being regarded as an indicator of its apoptotic character. This internucleosomal DNA fragmentation is demonstrated in tobacco suspension and leaf cells, which were killed immediately by freezing in liquid nitrogen, and homogenization or treatment with Triton X-100. Although these cells could not activate and realize the respective enzymatic processes in a programmed manner, the character of DNA fragmentation was similar to that in the cells undergoing typical gradual PCD induced by 50 μM CdSO 4 . This internucleosomal DNA fragmentation was connected with the action of cysteine proteases and the loss of membrane, in particular tonoplast, integrity. The mechanisms of DNase activation in the rapidly killed cells, hypothetical biological relevance, and implications for the classification of cell death are discussed.
ISSN:0022-0957
1460-2431