A genetically controlled process of cellular suicide previously known to occur only in animals has been identified in plants by a team of UC Davis scientists. The process is known as "apoptosis," a term derived from Greek roots to signify an orderly process of cell death. Apoptosis is characterized by a series of abnormal changes in the DNA of the cell nucleus, leading up to the cell's destruction. The researchers observed these trademark events in plant cells during normal development and in response to toxins from a fungal disease. "The results from this study suggest that disease-causing agents such as viruses, bacteria and fungi are able to hijack this normally occurring process of programmed cell death in the plant," said UC Davis plant pathologist David Gilchrist, who reported the findings in the March 25 issue of the journal Plant Cell. "Knowing that apoptosis occurs in plants and can be triggered during plant infection, we can direct future research toward identifying the genes involved in apoptosis and developing new targets for genetically engineered disease resistance into plants."