Plant cell the major classes of cells and tissues of roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and reproductive structures, each of which may be composed of several cell types. Parenchyma cells are living cells that have functions ranging from storage and support to photosynthesis (mesophyll cells) and phloem loading (transfer cells). Apart from the xylem and phloem in their vascular bundles, leaves are composed mainly of parenchyma cells. Some parenchyma cells, as in the epidermis, are specialized for light penetration and focusing or regulation of gas exchange, but others are among the least specialized cells in plant tissue, and may remain totipotent, capable of
Transmission of plant viruses but the most common route use the vascular system, otherwise known as the xylem and phloem, and the plasmodesmata, which interconnect adjacent cells. Nevertheless, the rigidity of the cell wall of plant cells, not only poses a problem for transmission of the viruses between different plant hosts, but also acts to prevent viral transmission between cells. Consequently the virus must modify the plasmodesmata as they, themselves, are too large to fit through the small and tightly regulated plant structure. There are again a variety of mechanisms used for this, which have evolved for different viruses. The main mechanisms involve expressing