Cell division is the biological process by which a parent cell divides into two daughter cells, occurring through either mitosis (producing genetically identical cells) or meiosis (producing gametes for sexual reproduction). In plant science, cell division is fundamental to understanding plant growth and development, as plants depend on continuous mitotic division for their characteristic indeterminate growth patterns and tissue renewal. Additionally, meiosis in plants is critical for genetic diversity through sexual reproduction, which drives plant evolution and is essential for crop breeding and agricultural improvement.
Rice has three copies of a gene that acts like a starter pistol for chromosome separation during cell division. Knocking them out completely kills the pollen and egg cells, while partial loss disrupts only the specialized division that makes those cells, causing sterility.
1
Complete loss of all three CDC20 genes caused defects in gametophyte mitosis and bilateral gametophyte lethality (both male and female).
2
Hypomorphic alleles cdc20-triple-1 and -2 arrested at metaphase I with normal chromosome alignment but failed to remove the cohesin SCC3 from chromosome arms, while alleles -3 and -4 passed meiosis I and arrested at metaphase II with aberrant spindles and missegregation.
3
SGO1 stayed stuck at centromeres in cdc20-triple-1 even when sister chromatids separated abnormally, but unloaded normally in cdc20-triple-3, indicating that timely SGO1 removal depends on CDC20-mediated metaphase I-to-anaphase I transition.
mail
Weekly plant science — one email, Saturdays.
Check your inbox to confirm — link expires in 24 hours.
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many signup attempts from your network. Try again in an hour, or email hello@plant.news.
