The architecture of a plasmodesma provides three possible routes for the movement of molecules from cell to cell: the ER, the cytoplasmic sleeve and the plasma membrane. Of these routes, movement within or along the ER
is the most contentious, while movement via the cytoplasmic sleeve is generally accepted for small solutes. It is a matter of debate as to whether all three of these pathways are available as transport routes within plasmodes-mata, or whether the route via the desmotubule lumen is only available in plasmodesmata that have an "open" desmotubule configuration.
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