Day: November 23, 2024

Plant TumorPlant Tumor

Do plants get cancer? The answer is, ‘Yes’, if cancer is defined as dysregulated cell growth, but typically plant cancer is different than in animals. Plant cells have a rigid cell wall that limits metastatic spreading of cancer cells through the plant. Instead, the tumor grows as a single mass called a gall. Also, most plant tumors/galls are caused by a viral infection that disrupts the normal expression of genes.   Here is an example that I found in my garden. I think this is an onion bulb where the new shoot has developed as a tumor of abnormal stem/leaf cells.