Siphonogamy, the delivery of nonmotile sperm to the egg via a pollen tube, was a key
innovation that allowed flowering plants (angiosperms) to carry out sexual reproduction on …

Self-incompatibility (SI) prevents the production of “self” seed and inbreeding by providing a
recognition and rejection system for “self,” or genetically identical, pollen. Studies of …

Though we are learning more about the diversity, dynamics, and importance of phyllosphere
microbiota, we have only modest knowledge about the microorganisms that specifically …

Pollen tube guidance precedes the double fertilization of flowering plants. Here, we report
the identification of a small maize protein of 94 amino acids involved in short-range …

Plant cells are enclosed by a rigid cell wall that counteracts the internal osmotic pressure of
the vacuole and limits the rate and direction of cell enlargement. When developmental or …

In flowering plants, double fertilization is one of the defining features of reproductive
development (Raghavan, 2003). Double fertilization was first discovered in 1898 by …

Plants have evolved epidermal cells that have specialized functions as adaptations to life on
land. Many of the functions of these specialized cells are dependent, to a significant extent …

Sexual reproduction in flowering plants is unique in multiple ways. Distinct multicellular
gametophytes contain either a pair of immotile, haploid male gametes (sperm cells) or a pair …

In angiosperms, the stigma provides initial nutrients and guidance cues for pollen grain
germination and tube growth. However, little is known about the genes that regulate these …

Plant reproductive development is dependent on successful pollen-pistil interactions. In
crucifers, the pollen tube must breach the stigma surface and burrow through the …