What happens during plasmolysis in plant cells?

During plasmolysis in plant cells, the cell loses water through osmosis, leading to a reduction in turgor pressure. As a result, the cytoplasm shrinks and pulls away from the rigid cell wall, which is the defining characteristic of plasmolysis. This process occurs when a plant cell is placed in a hypertonic solution, causing water to move out of the cell to balance solute concentrations.

In this state, while the cell wall remains intact, the cell membrane detaches from the wall, leading to the observed effect of the cytoplasm pulling away. This is crucial because it illustrates how plant cells respond to changes in their external environment, particularly in relation to water availability. The other options describe conditions not relevant to the actual process of plasmolysis: swelling and bursting occur in opposite osmotic conditions, growth does not happen during water loss, and while rigidity of the cell wall is essential, it does not change in the process of plasmolysis itself.