Cytokinesis in plant cells is characterized by which feature?

• A. Cleavage furrow forms and the cell membrane pinches in
• B. Cytoplasm divides but without a clear cell plate
• C. No centrosomes, cell plate forms and becomes wider to form a new cell wall
• D. The chromosomes separate and move to opposite ends

Answer: (C)

Cytokinesis in plant cells relies on building a cell plate that will become the separating cell wall, rather than pinching the membrane inward. Plant cells have rigid cell walls, so they can’t form a cleavage furrow like animal cells do. After mitosis, vesicles derived from the Golgi migrate to the center of the cell and fuse to form a cell plate. This plate then grows outward, fusing with the existing cell membranes and maturing into a separating cell wall that divides the two daughter cells. The absence of centrosomes as in many animal cells fits with this setup, since the division machinery guides vesicle fusion to create the new cell wall rather than a contractile ring pinching the membrane. The step described here is distinct from chromosomes moving to opposite ends, which is part of mitosis, not cytokinesis.