Contribution of cellular autolysis to tissular functions during plant development

•Plant development involves the organized elimination of particular cells.•Cell elimination requires both programmed cell death (PCD) and autolysis.•Recent advances suggest that distinct machineries execute PCD and autolysis.•Cell death and autolysis can fulfill distinct biological functions.•Developmental regulated cell autolysis represents a module of cell differentiation.

Plant development requires specific cells to be eliminated in a predictable and genetically regulated manner referred to as programmed cell death (PCD). However, the target cells do not merely die but they also undergo autolysis to degrade their cellular corpses. Recent progress in understanding developmental cell elimination suggests that distinct proteins execute PCD sensu stricto and autolysis. In addition, cell death alone and cell dismantlement can fulfill different functions. Hence, it appears biologically meaningful to distinguish between the modules of PCD and autolysis during plant development.