Describe the phenomenon of plasmolysis. What happens to a plant cell when it is subjected to a hypertonic medium?

Plasmolysis is the process in plant cells where the protoplast (cell membrane and all its contents) shrinks and pulls away from the cell wall when the cell is placed in a hypertonic solution. When a plant cell is subjected to a hypertonic medium, water moves out of the cell by osmosis, causing the central vacuole to lose water and shrink. This loss of turgor pressure leads to the detachment of the cell membrane from the rigid cell wall, resulting in plasmolysis.