Definition of plasmodesma in English:
plasmodesma
nounPlural plasmodesmata ˌplazmə(ʊ)ˈdɛzməˌplazməˈdesmə
Botany A narrow thread of cytoplasm that passes through the cell walls of adjacent plant cells and allows communication between them.
Example sentencesExamples
- It may traverse the root either through the cytoplasm of cells linked by plasmodesmata (the symplast) or through the spaces between cells (the apoplast).
- The unstained region around the periphery of most cells was almost certainly an artefact of plasmolysis, indicated by occasional contact points between plasmalemma and cell wall plasmodesmata.
- The symplastic path is mediated by plasmodesmata which bridge the cell walls between adjacent cells so that a cytoplasmic continuum is formed.
- Plant learning increases vasculature and increased communication between cells through plasmodesmata.
- Hence, stromules may possibly be considered as organellar analogues of plasmodesmata, the cytoplasmic connections that join plant cells in many tissues.
Origin
Early 20th century: from German Plasmodesma, from late Latin plasma 'mould, formation' + Greek desma 'bond, fetter'.