Endopolyploidy in plants

Endopolyploidy is a general term describing the multiplication of nuclear DNA within the cell. In plants, this takes place via several mechanisms but mainly through the process of endoreduplication. Endoreduplication involves the replication of chromosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) without intervening mitoses and no obvious chromatin condensation/decondensation, with chromatids staying united either at the centromere or rarely, along their entire length. The occurrence of this form of endopolyploidy is uneven across plants; thus far, it has not been detected in some lineages (e.g. liverworts), whereas it is common in angiosperms (flowering plants), where very high levels (up to 24 567C) of endopolyploidy have been reported in some tissues. Internal and external factors contribute to the mechanisms underlying endopolyploidy, which can be seen as a key part of the developmental flexibility of plants. Recent work has shown that endopolyploidy may also play an important role in the response of plants to environmental stress.