Statocyte

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title: "Statocyte" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["plant-cells"] topic_path: "general/plant-cells" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statocyte" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Root-tip-tag.png" caption="publisher=American Journal of Botany}}"] ::

With optical microscopy and the right fixation technique, it is possible to observe the cells in the root tip, where statocytes containing statoliths are situated in the root cap. The statoliths have sunk to the lowest part of the cell where they make contact with the plasma membrane. It is this contact that might be responsible for triggering the release or redistribution of auxin, although the exact molecular mechanisms by which the accumulation of statoliths at the bottom of the cell regulates the distribution of auxin are not yet fully understood. A uniform concentration of auxin causes the root to grow straight down. This is a form of positive gravitropism where the root grows along the gravity vector. Should the root lie horizontally, then the statoliths will displace sideways to the cell membrane and induce a change in auxin distribution that triggers the root to bend and grow straight down.

References

References

  1. D. Volkmann & M. Tewinkel for the European Space Agency. (April 1997). "Position of Statoliths in Statocytes from Cress Roots under Changing Gravity Conditions". European Space Agency.
  2. (22 August 2007). "Biology in Space and Life on Earth". Wiley.
  3. Neela Shiva Kumar, Martin Henry H. Stevens and John Z. Kiss. (2008-02-01). "Plastid movement in statocytes of the arg1 (altered response to gravity) mutant". American Journal of Botany.
  4. (2023-08-10). "Cell polarity linked to gravity sensing is generated by LZY translocation from statoliths to the plasma membrane". Science.
  5. (1991). "Oriented movement of statoliths studied in a reduced gravitational field during parabolic flights of rockets". Planta.

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