Recent Posts

Neo-polyploid infertility associated with defective pollen tube growth

Polyploidy, arising from whole-genome duplication, is a common phenomenon in plant species. However, newly formed polyploids are often infertile and the mechanism(s) by which they adapt to their new karyotypes remain unclear. In this article, Westermann and colleagues chemically induced the formation…

RALF4 prevents pollen tubes from growing crazy

Pollen tubes are characterized by extremely fast elongation growth. Previously, small peptides known as RALFs (RAPID ALKALINIZATION FACTORs) were identified as signaling peptides, some with a role in pollen tube growth; for instance, RALF4/19 are important in maintaining the cell wall integrity of pollen…

Evolution of the thermostability of actin-depolymerizing factors enhances pollen germination at high temperature

In angiosperms, pollen germination leads to a period of extensive polarized growth of the pollen tube, which carries the sperm nuclei to the ovule. Studies of tip growth in both pollen tubes and root hairs have contributed to a descriptive model that involves polarized vesicle movement along the cytoskeleton…

F-actin in the synergid cell regulates the secretion of pollen tube attractants like a fishing rod

Susaki et al. explore the role of the cytoskeleton of synergid cells during sexual reproduction of angiosperms. By Daichi Susaki, and Daisuke Maruyama Kihara Institute for Biological Research, Yokohama City University, Japan. Background: The two synergid cells embedded in the ovule of angiosperms…