Which statement is true about plant cell cytokinesis?

• A. It occurs primarily through the formation of a cell plate
• B. It occurs through a cleavage furrow similar to animal cells
• C. It does not occur in plant cells
• D. It requires the nucleus to move to the center

Answer: (A)

In plant cells, cytokinesis finishes cell division by building a new cell wall between the two new daughter cells, rather than pinching the cell membrane inward. During telophase, vesicles derived from the Golgi apparatus gather at the center of the cell and coalesce to form a cell plate. This cell plate gradually grows outward, fusing with the existing plasma membrane and ultimately becoming a separating cell wall between the two new cells. This mechanism fits plants because their rigid cell walls prevent the membrane from pinching in like in animal cells.

That’s why the statement describing a cell plate formation is the true one. The idea of a cleavage furrow, as in animal cells, doesn’t apply to plants. Saying cytokinesis doesn’t occur in plant cells is incorrect, since plant cells do complete cytokinesis—via the cell plate. The notion that the nucleus must move to the center to drive cytokinesis isn’t how this process works; the division of the cytoplasm is guided by vesicle fusion and cell wall construction, not nucleus repositioning.