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The cells of meristematic tissue usually lack:
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Answer: Option A — Vacuoles
Detailed Solution
Meristematic tissue is a type of plant tissue made of cells that keep dividing throughout the plant's life. It is responsible for the growth of plants. Meristematic cells are found at growing regions, such as the tips of roots and shoots.
Meristematic cells have special features suited to rapid division:
- They are small, often round, oval or polygonal, and packed closely together with no spaces between them (no intercellular spaces).
- They have thin cell walls made of cellulose.
- They have dense cytoplasm and a large, prominent nucleus.
They have no vacuoles, or only very small ones. Vacuoles are storage sacs filled with cell sap. In mature plant cells, a large central vacuole may take up most of the cell. Meristematic cells are busy dividing rather than storing food and water, so they do not need large vacuoles.
There are three types of meristematic tissue, based on their position:
Apical meristem: at the tips of roots and stems. It increases the length of the plant (primary growth).
Lateral meristem (cambium): on the sides of stems and roots. It increases the girth or thickness of the plant (secondary growth), forming wood and annual rings in trees.
Intercalary meristem: at the base of leaves or at the nodes (the points where leaves join the stem), as in grasses. It helps in the growth of these parts and allows grasses to grow back after being grazed.
When meristematic cells stop dividing and take up a specific role, they become permanent tissue, such as parenchyma, collenchyma, sclerenchyma, xylem and phloem. This process is called differentiation.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Nucleus: meristematic cells have a large, prominent nucleus.
- ✗Cytoplasm: they have dense cytoplasm.
- ✗Cell membrane: all living cells have a cell membrane.
Quick tip
Remember: Meristem cells = no vacuoles, dense cytoplasm, large nucleus, no intercellular spaces. Apical = length; lateral (cambium) = girth; intercalary = at nodes (grasses).
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Cell: Structure & Function — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Cell: Structure & Function, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the cell as the basic unit of life: the discovery of the cell and cell theory, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, plant and animal cells, cell organelles and their functions, and cell division by mitosis and meiosis. Exam questions often ask which organelle is called the 'powerhouse of the cell' (mitochondria) or the 'suicide bag' (lysosomes), who discovered the cell (Robert Hooke, in 1665) and the nucleus (Robert Brown), and which structures are found only in plant cells (the cell wall and plastids). Practise the cell structure and function questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.