The Functions of Programmed Cell Death during Plant Development and Environmental Adaptation

Programmed cell death (PCD) in plants is a kind of the spontaneous cell death events, which com- monly occurs in plant developmental process and environmental adaptation. The study of plant PCD has become a hot issue of scholars at home and abroad in recent years. Accumulating evidences show that plant PCD process is tightly associated with plant growth, and this event can help plant change structure property, activate cascade of genes involved in stress-response genes. In this re- view, recent research progress with respect to the correlation between plant vegetative growth and PCD, the PCD-related signaling molecules, the function of PCD during plant typical adversity stress responses of salt stress and the innovative methods implicated in the plant PCD research. Ultimately, we raised some outlook regarding the trends and significance of PCD investigation in plants.