Controlled cell death, plant survival and development

For plants to develop properly and survive, programmed cell death is an important response strategy to various internal and external cues. Morphologically, a key difference between programmed cell death of plant cells and apoptosis in animals is the absence of engulfment by neighbouring cells in plants. Recent genetic, molecular and biochemical approaches have begun to reveal interesting candidate regulators in plants that show both similar and new properties compared with their animal counterparts.