Primary observations of the existence of Fas-like cytoplasmic death factor in plant cells

The main activity of Fas is to trigger cytoplasm death program in animal cells. In G2 pea, vacuole plays a pivotal role in inducing cell death in the cytoplasm of longday (LD) grown apical meristem cells. Expression patterns of the Fas in G2 pea cells revealed that the Fas is mainly localized in the vacuole of cells undergoing programmed cell death (PCD). The Fas expression is corresponding to the initiation of menadione-induced PCD in tobacco protoplasts.The results suggest the existence of the Fas-like mediated cytoplasmic death pathway in plant cells.``