Question

How are plasmodesmata related to symplast?

Answer 1

Hint: A pair of cell walls and the adjacent middle lamella separate neighboring plant cells, forming an extracellular domain known as the apoplast. Whereas the cell walls are porous to small soluble proteins and other solutes, plasmodesmata allow direct, regulated, symplastic transport of substances within cells.

Complete Answer:
Plasmodesmata is the connecting system between two cells in which a channel-like connection is formed between the cytoplasm of two cells, in this way both the cells are connected with each other. It is mainly present in bacteria cells.
1. The apoplast is present in the plant cells and it is the empty space outside the cell membrane with which material like water can diffuse easily, it is clearly represented by the Casparian strips inside the root cells of the plant for conduction of the water molecules.
2. Symplast present inside the cell membrane of the cell, water, and other molecules that have low molecular weight can pass through the plasmodesmata from one cell to another cell without the use of any energy in this process.
3. Symplast is opposite to that of the apoplast, it is one of the processes which support the flow of water from the roots of the plants. Here symplast uses the plasmodesmata for the transport of water and another small molecular weight molecule.

Note:
Plasmodesmata are miniature pathways that penetrate the cell walls of plant cells and some algal cells, allowing them to change and interact with each other. They are inter-cellular organelles that are only present in algal and plant cells. Plasmodesmata consist of pores or channels which lie within individual plant cells and access the symplastic space in the plant.