| MadSci Network: Botany |
This is a question that is rather controversial because recent research has been changing old concepts and creating new terminology. According to the British Society for Cell Biology, lysosomes are characteristic of all animal and plant cells. However, most botanists do not apply the term lysosome to plant cells. Authors of a 1998 research study on barley seeds found two types of vacuoles, "a protein storage vacuole and a lysosome-like organelle, which we have called the secondary vacuole." Another article in the Plant Cell journal refered to a "lytic vacuole" in a plant cell as equivalent to the lysosome of an animal cell. The term, "lytic vacuole" is being widely applied to plant cells. My best answer to your question would be the following: No plant cells contain lysosomes because most biologists consider the lysosome to be an organelle found only in animal cells. However, all plant species are believed to contain some lytic vacuoles, which contain hydrolytic enzymes as do lysosomes. However, lytic vacuoles differ from lysosomes in method of origin, shape, function and enzyme content. The large central vacuole of a mature plant cell arises by merging of lytic vacuoles and protein storage vacuoles. References Lysosomes by British Society for Cell Biology Cell Structure - Lysosomes Barley Aleurone Cells Contain Two Types of Vacuoles: Characterization of Lytic Organelles by Use of Fluorescent Probes Vacuolar Protein Trafficking and Vesicles: Continuing to Sort It All Out lytic vacuole definition Pathways of protein transport to the plant vacuole
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