Question

What cellular features are retained if the plant cell is alive?

Answer 1

Answer: The programmed cells death is the characteristic feature of all living organisms. It is crucial mechanism to restrict the pathogen infecting the living cells, proper development of multi-cellular body plan, and disposal of aged or worn out cells due to wear and tear processes of the body. The ultra-structural study reveals several changes, which indicates the living or dead/apoptotic status of cells.

Structural features:

1. Morphology of the cell: The cellular morphology are the primary living indicator of cell, a healthy cells having intact cellular membrane, free from bulging, swelling or any improper change in shape, free from any kind of fluid leakage, with intact cell wall structure.

2. Mitochondria: Mitochondria are the central regulator of all kind of cell death, the intact mitochondrial structure, with maintained size and shape with maintained membrane potential. Disintegrated mitochondria indicative of dead cells.

3. Protoplast: Protoplast should maintain in proper shape, without any kind of shrinkage or swelling. Any kind of change is indicative indication of unhealthy condition.

4. Vacuole: Maintained vacuole structure in its normal condition, without any swelling/shrinkage.

5. Organelles: Cellular organelles should maintain in their proper shape and size, and deterioration is mark of unhealthy condition.

6. Intact Nucleus: Integrated nucleus is the indicator healthy cells status, during apoptosis/death phase it gets disintegrated.

Functional features:

Functionally, live plant cell should able to maintain the homeostasis, will able to respond towards external environmental factor and stimuli, able to reproduce, having active cellular metabolism, respiration, able to grow and develop, able to do the photosynthesis for energy production when the required source of light and substrate are available (CO2 + H2O àC6H12O6 +6O2 in the presence of light source).