Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
plasmodesma
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
Illustration comparing three cell types: a round animal cell and an irregularly shaped plant cell, both showing labeled organelles, and an elongated bacteria cell with labeled structures such as flagella and capsule. Side-by-side labeled diagrams of a typical animal cell and a plant cell, showing internal structures such as nucleus, mitochondrion, endoplasmic reticulum, and unique features like chloroplasts and cell wall in the plant cell.
Quick Facts
Plural:
plasmodesmata
Related Topics:
cell
See all related content
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

plasmodesma

plant anatomy
Also known as: plasmodesmata
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

plasmodesma, microscopic cytoplasmic canal that passes through plant-cell walls and allows direct communication of molecules between adjacent plant cells. Plasmodesmata are formed during cell division, when traces of the endoplasmic reticulum become caught in the new wall that divides the parent cell. The two progeny cells may be connected by thousands of plasmodesmata, which contain rings of membrane at each end that are thought to regulate the passage of molecules. By overcoming the plasma-membrane barrier, plasmodesmata unite plant cells into syncytial tissues (masses of cytoplasm that have multiple nuclei).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers.