Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2019) 8(12): 2324-2331 2324 Review Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.812.274 Programmed Cell Death (PCD) Regulation Related to Development in Plant S. Dogra * , G. Chand, B. K. Sinha and M. Banoo Department of Plant Physiology, Sher-e-KashmirUniversity of Agricultural Sciences & Technology Jammu, J&K, 180009, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Programmed cell death (PCD) is a genetically regulated process responsible for the elimination of undesirable cells in eukaryotes; necessary for development and survival. Programmed cell death (PCD) is a physiological cell death process involved in the selective elimination of unwanted cells. Cells that are damaged and unable to function correctly can also undergo PCD. This removes potentially harmful cells and prevents them from multiplying and spreading. PCD process leads to the active participation of the dying cells, and could be regulated by genetically controlled, well-orchestrated cell suicide machinery. The common process in such instances comprise one or more phenotypes such as cytoplasmic shrinkage, membrane blebbing, loss of cell-to-cell contact, DNA fragmentation, cytochrome c release from mitochondria, cell shrinkage, generation of reactive oxygen species, exposure of phosphatidylserine, etc. (Bonneau et al., International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 8 Number 12 (2019) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Programmed cell death (PCD) is a fundamental cellular process that has adopted a plethora of vital functions in multicellular organisms. Such phenomenon is associated with recovery of cellular compounds and sustaining plant life. Basic morphological and biochemical features of PCD are believed to be conserved in both plants and animals. Nevertheless, recent studies demonstrate an involvement of organelles such as vacuole and chloroplast in plant cell death regulation, indicating that plants evolved own cell death machinery. The importance of understanding PCD signaling pathways, with their elicitors and effectors, is in order to improve plant productivity and resistance to environmental stresses. This article describes some of the fundamental characteristics of plant dPCD and raises points that may lead to a better understanding and novel strategies for plant molecular breeding. Keywords Programmed cell death, Developmental PCD, Reactive oxygen species Accepted: 17 November 2019 Available Online: 10 December 2019 Article Info