New insights into cytomixis: specific cellular features and prevalence in higher plants

Cytoskeleton and nucleoskeleton involvement in processes of cytomixis in plants

“…In monocots cytomixis has several forms including pair‐looped and micronuclear types (e.g., donor‐recipient and chained) (Figure ) as well as direct internuclear bridges (Mursalimov et al, ; Kravets et al, ; Sidorchuk et al, ). These variations of the behaviour can occur within a single population of microsporocytes and can happen sequentially or simultaneously, with pair‐looped and donor‐recipient interactions more typical of spontaneous cytomixis (Kravets et al, ), whereas chained interactions tend to be induced (Sidorchuk et al, ).…”

“…Nuclear transition through the CC leads to its deformation which compresses the chromatin. Micronuclei and migrating chromatin retain the compacted structure and pyknotic form for some time post‐transition before their structure is fully restored (Pan et al, ; Mursalimov et al, , ; Mursalimov and Deineko, ; Sidorchuk et al, ). A transient changes in nuclear morphology is also seen during nuclear migration in animals, which reflects the direction of the external stimulus, the geometry of the tissue and the intracellular resistance (Friedl et al, ).…”

“…The essence of cytomixis is to move nuclei or chromosomes, cytoplasmic organelles, trophic factors, and signal molecules from cell to cell within tissues or between neighbor tissues through the cytoplasmic (cytomictic) channels in plants as well as intercellular bridges in animals (Hecht, ; Ventela et al, ; reviews by Pierre and de Sousa, ; Kravets, ; Lone and Lone, ; Mandal et al, ). In plants the main focus of cytomixis studies has been microsporogenesis in angiosperms where it occurs most often (Bione et al, ; Bellucci et al, ; Lattoo et al, ; Ghaffari, ; Bhat et al, ; Kumar and Singhal ; Singhal et al, ,; Pierre and de Sousa, ; Kravets, , ; Rana et al, ; Mursalimov et al, ; Mursalimov et al, ; Mandal et al, ). Cytomixis is also found in living intact tissues of vegetative and generative plant organs (Zhang et al, ; Liu et al, ).…”

“…(Tarkowska, ; Bobak and Herich, ; Narain, ; Bauchan et al, ; Dwivedi et al, ; Bedi, ; Grodzinsky et al, ; de Souza and Pagliarini, ; Ghaffari, ; Sidorchuk et al, ; Kravets, , ; Negron‐Ortiz, ). Cytomixis rather frequently occurs in polyploids and within the same species in the forms with different ploidy levels (Falistocco et al, ; Bellucci et al, ; Ghaffari, ; Lattoo et al, ; Kumar and Singhal, , ; Singhal et al, ; Guan et al, ; Mursalimov et al, ; Reis et al, ). Climatic and seasonal factors, especially extreme temperatures and drought also increase cytomixis activity (Soman and Bhavanandan, ; Kumar and Singhal, , ; Zinn et al, ; Pecrix et al, ; Singhal et al, ; Kravets et al, ; Malik and Gupta, ; de Storme and Geelen, ; de Storme and Mason, ).…”

“…It is believed that genetic control of meiotic cytomixis involves meiotic genes activity of which is regulated by environmental factors through signal transduction (Bedi, ; Kaul and Murthy, ; Bellucci et al, ; Lattoo et al, ; Mandal et al, ). Many of the authors emphasize the potential evolutionary significance of cytomixis (Malallah and Attia, ; Lattoo et al, ; Kumar and Singhal, , ; Ghaffari, ; Singhal et al, ,; Pierre and de Sousa, ; Malik and Gupta, ; Lone and Lone, ; de Storme and Geelen, ; Mursalimov et al, , ).…”