plasmolysis
/plæzˈmɑləsɪs/
noun
- The process in which a plant cell loses water and its cytoplasm shrinks away from the cell wall, usually because the cell is placed in a salty or sugary solution.
- Under a microscope, plasmolysis is visible as the cell contents shrinking inward.
- When you put a plant cell in salt water, plasmolysis causes the cell membrane to pull away from the wall.
- Farmers worry about plasmolysis in crops when the soil becomes too salty.