The reaper (rpr) and head involution defective (hid) genes mediate programmed cell death (PCD) during Drosophila development. We show that expression of either rpr or hid under control of a rhodopsin promoter induces rapid cell death of adult photoreceptor cells. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that the dying photoreceptor cells share morphological features with other cells undergoing PCD. Th...

Microsporogenesis in angiosperms takes places within the anther. Microspores are surrounded by a layer of cells, the tapetum, which degenerates during the later stages of pollen development with cytological features characteristic of programmed cell death (PCD). We report herein that the expression of AtBI-1, which suppresses Bax-induced cell death, in the tapetum at the tetrad stage inhibits t...

It has become clear that, together with deregulated growth, inhibition of programmed cell death (PCD) plays a pivotal role in tumorigenesis. In this review, we present an overview of the genes and mechanisms involved in PCD. We then summarize the evidence that impaired PCD is a prerequisite for tumorigenesis, as indicated by the fact that more and more neoplastic mutations appear to act by inte...

Programmed cell death (PCD) in plants is a crucial component of development and defence mechanisms. In animals, different types of cell death (apoptosis, autophagy, and necrosis) have been distinguished morphologically and discussed in these morphological terms. PCD is largely used to describe the processes of apoptosis and autophagy (although some use PCD and apoptosis interchangeably) while n...

Only a handful of model systems for studying programmed cell death (PCD) exist. The Arabidopsis thaliana has generated plethora knowledge, but it is essential to introduce new models broaden our understanding the commonalities PCD. This review focuses on Aponogeton madagascariensis (the lace plant) as choice study PCD in vivo. plays key role plant development and defence. Thus, identifying regu...

Title: "Steroid-triggered, cell-autonomous programmed cell death of identified Drosophila motoneurons during metamorphosis" This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of Biology by: Original approval signatures are on file with the Graduate School and the University of Oregon Libraries. Progra...

Programmed cell death (PCD) is physiologically involved in the regulation of cell division and differentiation. It encompasses caspase-dependent mitochondrial and nonmitochondrial pathways. Additional caspase-independent pathways have been characterized in mitochondrial PCDs but remain hypothetical in nonmitochondrial PCDs. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) has been shown to inhibit division of pit...

Patterns of cell death have been divided into apoptosis, which is actively executed by specific proteases, the caspases, and accidental necrosis. However, there is now accumulating evidence indicating that cell death can occur in a programmed fashion but in complete absence and independent of caspase activation. Alternative models of programmed cell death (PCD) have therefore been proposed, inc...

Programmed cell death (PCD) is an essential part of the defence response in plants and animals against pathogens. Here, we report that PCD is also involved in defence against pathogens of fungi. Vegetative incompatibility is a self/non-self recognition system in fungi that results in PCD when cells of incompatible strains fuse. We quantified the frequency of cell death associated with six veget...

Programmed cell death (PCD) is regulated by multiple evolutionarily conserved mechanisms to ensure the survival of the cell. Here we describe pvl-5, a gene that likely regulates PCD in Caenorhabditis elegans. In wild-type hermaphrodites at the L2 stage there are 11 Pn.p hypodermal cells in the ventral midline arrayed along the anterior-posterior axis and 6 of these cells become the vulval precu...