Journal
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
Volume 65, Issue 10, Pages 2731-2746Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1093/jxb/ert366
Keywords
Cell cycle control; cell size; endoreduplication; fruit; growth; karyoplasmic ratio theory; tomato
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Funding
- 6th Framework Program of the European Commission [FOOD-CT-2006-016214]
- French Agence Nationale de la Recherche [ANR-09-GENM-105]
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The growth of a plant organ depends upon the developmental processes of cell division and cell expansion. The activity of cell divisions sets the number of cells that will make up the organ; the cell expansion activity then determines its final size. Among the various mechanisms that may influence the determination of cell size, endopolyploidy by means of endoreduplication appears to be of great importance in plants. Endoreduplication is widespread in plants and supports the process of differentiation of cells and organs. Its functional role in plant cells is not fully understood, although it is commonly associated with ploidy-dependent cell expansion. During the development of tomato fruit, cells from the (fleshy) pericarp tissue become highly polyploid, reaching a DNA content barely encountered in other plant species (between 2C and 512C). Recent investigations using tomato fruit development as a model provided new data in favour of the long-standing karyoplasmic ratio theory, stating that cells tend to adjust their cytoplasmic volume to the nuclear DNA content. By establishing a highly structured cellular system where multiple physiological functions are integrated, endoreduplication does act as a morphogenetic factor supporting cell growth during tomato fruit development.
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