Which statement about cytokinesis in plant cells is correct?

• A. It uses a contractile ring to pinch membrane inward
• B. It forms a cell plate that develops into separating cell walls
• C. It ends with the nucleus dissolving
• D. It occurs after mitosis

Answer: (B)

Cytokinesis in plant cells relies on building a cell plate that will become the separating cell walls. Vesicles produced by the Golgi apparatus accumulate at the center of the cell and fuse to form this plate. As it grows outward, it eventually reaches and fuses with the existing cell membranes, splitting the cell into two distinct compartments. The plate then develops into the separating cell walls, completing the division of the two daughter cells.

This contrasts with animal cells, which use a contractile ring of actin to pinch the membrane inward and form a cleavage furrow. The nucleus doesn’t dissolve as part of cytokinesis; chromosome separation and nuclear reformation happen during mitosis, with cytokinesis following or overlapping the final stages.