Resumo

PEREZ DELGADO, Yornayser; GALINDO CASTRO, Iván  e  ARVELO, Francisco. Programmed cell death in plants: it is similar to "apoptosis" in animals?. INCI [online]. 2007, vol.32, n.12, pp.812-819. ISSN 0378-1844.

Programmed cell death (PCD) is essential to maintain tissue homeostasis in many forms of life. As in animals, in plants PCD is the mechanism whereby a series of physiological processes, such as germination, differentiation, growth, reproduction and seed development, are regulated. PCD plays a key role in other processes such as resistance to unfavorable environmental conditions. Unlike animal models, PCD in plants has been scarcely described at molecular level, which has given rise to controversy about the parallelism between this type of PCD and the process known as apoptosis in animals. Nevertheless, evidences have come forth lately that allow to conclude that apoptosis occurs in plants as well. In this review, recent findings in this area in the plant kingdom are analyzed, which throw light on the modulation of the plant response against a diverse biotic and abiotic stress agent, paving the way for their use in genetic improvement programs for strategic crops.

Palavras-chave : Apoptosis ; Caspasas ; Mitocondria ; Muerte Celular Programada ; Plantas .