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Preprophase

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  1. Preprophase
Preprophase
Cell cycle phase only found in plants

Preprophase is an additional phase during mitosis in plant cells that does not occur in other eukaryotes such as animals or fungi. It precedes prophase and is characterized by two distinct events:

  1. The formation of the preprophase band, a dense microtubule ring underneath the plasma membrane.
  2. The initiation of microtubule nucleation at the nuclear envelope.

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Contents
  • (Top)
  • Function of preprophase in the cell cycle
  • Preprophase band formation
  • Microtubule nucleation
  • Transition into prophase
  • Notes and references
  • Bibliography
  • Recent changes
  • Rabbit hole
Contents
Contents8 sections
  • (Top)
  • Function of preprophase in the cell cycle
  • Preprophase band formation
  • Microtubule nucleation
  • Transition into prophase
  • Notes and references
  • Bibliography
  • Recent changes
  • Rabbit hole
Study aids for Preprophase

Terminology

prophase spindle
This structure is called the prophase spindle.

Terms the article defines in bold, quoted in context.

Categories:
  • Cell cycle
  • Mitosis
  • Plant cells

559 words · 5 references · revision 1282084142 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Last edited
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Key concepts

  • Prophase2
  • Tobacco BY-2 cells1
  • Green fluorescent protein1
  • Arabidopsis thaliana1
  • Prometaphase1
  • Mitosis1
  • Plant cell1
  • Eukaryote1
  • Animal1
  • Fungus1

The articles this one links to most, weighted towards the introduction.

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Function of preprophase in the cell cycle

Plant cells are fixed with regards to their neighbor cells within the tissues they are growing in. In contrast to animals where certain cells can migrate within the embryo to form new tissues, the seedlings of higher plants grow entirely based on the orientation of cell division and subsequent elongation and differentiation of cells within their cell walls. Therefore, the accurate control of cell division planes and placement of the future cell wall in plant cells is crucial for the correct architecture of plant tissues and organs.

The preprophase stage of somatic plant cell mitosis serves to establish the precise location of the division plane and future cell wall before the cell enters prophase. This is achieved through the formation of a transient microtubule structure, the preprophase band, and a so far unknown mechanism by which the cell is able to "memorize" the position of the preprophase band to guide the new cell wall growing during cytokinesis to the correct location. In gametophyte tissues during the reproductive phase of the plant life cycle, cell division planes may be established without the use of a preprophase band.2

In highly vacuolated plant cells, preprophase may be preceded by the formation of a phragmosome. The function of the phragmosome is to suspend the cell nucleus in the center of the cell in preparation for mitosis. If a phragmosome is visible, the preprophase band will appear at its outer edge.

Preprophase band formation

Main article: Preprophase band

At the beginning of preprophase, the cortical microtubules of a plant cell disappear and aggregate into a dense ring underneath the plasma membrane. This preprophase band runs around the equatorial plane of the future mitotic spindle and marks the plane of cell division and future fusion site for the cell plate. It consists of microtubules and microfilaments (actin) and persists into prophase. Spindle formation occurs during prophase with the axis perpendicular to the plane surrounded by the preprophase band.

Microtubule nucleation

In contrast to animal cells, plant cells do not possess centrosomes to organize their mitotic spindles. Instead, the nuclear envelope acts as a microtubule organizing center (MTOC) for spindle formation during preprophase. The first sign is a clear, actin-free zone appearing around the nuclear envelope.3 This zone fills with microtubules nucleating on the surface of the nucleus. The preprophase spindle forms by self-assembly of these microtubules in the cytoplasm surrounding the nuclear envelope. It is reinforced through chromosome (kinetochore)-mediated spindle assembly after the nuclear envelope breaks down at the beginning of prometaphase.4

Transition into prophase

During progression from preprophase into prophase, the randomly oriented microtubules align parallel along the nuclear surface according to the spindle axis. This structure is called the prophase spindle. Triggered by nuclear membrane breakdown at the beginning of prometaphase, the preprophase band disappears5 and the prophase spindle matures into the metaphase spindle occupying the space of the former nucleus. Experiments with drugs destroying microfilaments indicate that actin may play a role in keeping the cellular "memory" of the position of the division plane after the preprophase band breaks down to direct cytokinesis in telophase.3

Notes and references

  1. 1Dhonukshe, P, Mathur, J, Hülskamp, M, Gadella, TWJ (2005). "Microtubule plus-ends reveal essential links between intracellular polarization and localized modulation of endocytosis during division-plane establishment in plant cells". BMC Biology. 3: 11. doi:10.1186/1741-7007-3-11. PMC 1087477. PMID 15831100.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. 2Otegui M, Staehelin LA (2000). "Cytokinesis in flowering plants: more than one way to divide a cell". Current Opinion in Plant Biology. 3 (6): 493–502. Bibcode:2000COPB....3..493O. doi:10.1016/S1369-5266(00)00119-9. PMID 11074381.

Bibliography

  • P.H. Raven, R.F. Evert, S.E. Eichhorn (2005): Biology of Plants, 7th Edition, W.H. Freeman and Company Publishers, New York, ISBN 0-7167-1007-2
  • 3Hoshino H, Yoneda A, Kumagai F, Hasezawa S (2003). "Roles of actin-depleted zone and preprophase band in determining the division site of higher-plant cells, a tobacco BY-2 cell line expressing GFP-tubulin". Protoplasma. 222 (3–4): 157–165. Bibcode:2003Prpls.222..157H. doi:10.1007/s00709-003-0012-8. PMID 14714204. S2CID 23455621.
  • 4Smirnova EA, Bajer AS (1998). "Early stages of spindle formation and independence of chromosome and microtubule cycles in Haemantus endosperm". Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton. 40 (1): 22–37. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0169(1998)40:1<22::AID-CM3>3.0.CO;2-H. PMID 9605969.
  • 5Dixit R, Cyr RJ (2002). "Spatio-temporal relationship between nuclear membrane breakdown and preprophase band disappearance in cultured tobacco cells". Protoplasma. 219 (1–2): 116–121. doi:10.1007/s007090200012. PMID 11926062. S2CID 7708417.
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    Created
    10 Feb 2007
    History
    49 edits
    27 contributors
    No edits in the last 30 days
    Last edited
    24 Mar 2025

    49 revisions in total · 27 contributors

    1. 24 Mar 2025, 06:08 UTCCitation botAdded bibcode. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Dominic3203 | Category:Cell cycle | #UCB_Category 57/100+32diff
    2. 8 Jan 2025, 12:23 UTCCitation botAdded bibcode. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | Category:Plant cells | #UCB_Category 12/32+29diff
    3. 3 Dec 2023, 15:42 UTCCitation botAdd: doi-access. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | #UCB_CommandLine+21diff
    4. 17 Mar 2023, 15:39 UTCCitation botAlter: issue. Add: s2cid. Formatted dashes. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | #UCB_webform 1193/3850+41diff
    5. 23 Mar 2022, 23:19 UTCVycl1994§ Function of preprophase in the cell cycle+36diff
    6. 6 Jan 2022, 09:17 UTCCrafterNovaAdding local short description: "Cell cycle phase only found in plants", overriding Wikidata description "cell cycle phase only found in plants" (Shortdesc helper)+60diff
    7. 21 Jan 2021, 07:51 UTCMys 721txAdded {{More footnotes}} tag+37diff
    8. 30 Oct 2020, 16:30 UTCAnonymous contributor§ Microtubule nucleation+10diff

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    Created
    10 Feb 2007
    History
    49 edits
    27 contributors
    No edits in the last 30 days
    Last edited
    24 Mar 2025