Abstract The calcium ion (Ca2+) is a universal signal in all eukaryotic cells. A fundamental
question is how Ca2+, a simple cation, encodes complex information with high specificity …

In flowering plants, pollen tubes undergo tip growth to deliver two nonmotile sperm to the
ovule where they fuse with an egg and central cell to achieve double fertilization. This …

In flowering plants, sperm are transported inside pollen tubes to the female gametophyte for
fertilization. The female gametophyte induces rupture of the penetrating pollen tube …

BACKGROUND: Calcium serves as a versatile messenger in many adaptation and
developmental processes in plants. Ca2+ signals are represented by stimulus-specific …

Elevations in cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+] cyt) constitute a fundamental
signal transduction mechanism in eukaryotic cells, but the molecular identity of Ca2+ …

In flowering plants, pollen germinates on the stigma and pollen tubes grow through the style
to fertilize the ovules. Enzymatic production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been …

Pollen tubes grow rapidly by very fast rates and reach extended lengths to bring about
fertilization during plant reproduction. The pollen tube grows exclusively at its tip …

It has become increasingly apparent that the extracellular matrix (ECM), which in plants
corresponds to the cell wall, can influence intracellular activities in ways that go far beyond …

The recognition between disease resistance (R) genes in plants and their cognate
avirulence (Avr) genes in pathogens can produce a hypersensitive response of localized …

During sexual reproduction of flowering plants, pollen tube guidance by pistil tissue is critical
for the delivery of nonmotile sperm cells to female gametes. Multistep controls of pollen tube …