what is plasmolysis
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Answer:
Plasmolysis:-
contraction of the protoplast of a plant cell as a result of loss of water from the cell.
Plasmolysis is the process in which cells lose water in a hypertonic solution. The reverse process, deplasmolysis or cytolysis, can occur if the cell is in a hypotonic solution resulting in a lower external osmotic pressure and a net flow of water into the cell.
If a plant cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, the plant cell loses water and hence turgor pressure by plasmolysis: pressure decreases to the point where the protoplasm of the cell peels away from the cell wall, leaving gaps between the cell wall and the membrane and making the plant cell shrink and crumple. A continued decrease in pressure eventually leads to cytorrhysis – the complete collapse of the cell wall. Plants with cells in this condition wilt. After plasmolysis the gap between the cell wall and the cell membrane in a plant cell is filled with hypertonic solution. This is because as the solution surrounding the cell is hypertonic, exosmosis takes place and the space between the cell wall and cytoplasm is filled with solutes, as most of the water drains away and hence the concentration inside the cell becomes more hypertonic. There are some mechanisms in plants to prevent excess water loss in the same way as excess water gain. Plasmolysis can be reversed if the cell is placed in a hypotonic solution. Stomata help keep water in the plant so it does not dry out. Wax also keeps water in the plant. The equivalent process in animal cells is called crenation.
The liquid content of the cell leaks out due to exosmosis. The cell collapses, and the cell membrane pulls away from the cell wall (in plants). Most animal cells consist of only a phospholipid bilayer (plasma membrane) and not a cell wall, therefore shrinking up under such conditions.
Plasmolysis only occurs in extreme conditions and rarely occurs in nature. It is induced in the laboratory by immersing cells in strong saline or sugar (sucrose) solutions to cause exosmosis, often using Elodea plants or onion epidermal cells, which have colored cell sap so that the process is clearly visible. Methylene blue can be used to stain plant cells.
Plasmolysis is mainly known as shrinking of cell membrane in hypertonic solution and great pressure.