The formation of the cell plate during cytokinesis in Allium cepa L.

Abstract

It has long been an interest of biologists to discover the structural basis underlying the expression of cell shape or form, and the higher resolutions provided by electron microscopy have renewed hopes that the elucidation of this problem might now be possible by direct observation. In this connection the structure and behaviour of the newly-revealed systems of the cytoplasm, especially those that are membrane-limited, have been watched carefully for appearances of order which might be related to the over-all shape of the cell. Thus far, however, the correlations, if any, have not become apparent. In further pursuit of this interest we have made a few observations on a particular region of the cell, where, if at any time, the cytoplasmic systems involved in determining cell limits should show themselves, namely when the new cell wall appears during cytokinesis in plant tissues, i. e. at the cell plate.

Visiting investigator from Department of Pathology and Oncology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, supported by Institutional Grant INSTR-60 from the American Cancer Society, Inc.