Polyspermy barriers: a plant perspective

Tekleyohans, Dawit G.; Mao, Yanbo; Kägi, Christina; Stierhof, York‐Dieter; Groß‐Hardt, Rita

doi:10.1016/j.pbi.2016.11.012

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…To reduce the risk of supernumerary sperm fusion, eukaryotes have evolved polyspermy barriers, which are implemented at different levels in the reproductive process 10 . A common mechanism found in animals and plants is an egg cell block, which is mounted after gamete fusion and imposes chemical or physical barriers to reduce the risk of further sperm entry 11 – 15 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Triparental plants provide direct evidence for polyspermy induced polyploidy

et al. 2017

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It is considered an inviolable principle that sexually reproducing organisms have no more than two parents and fertilization of an egg by multiple sperm (polyspermy) is lethal in many eukaryotes. In flowering plants polyspermy has remained a hypothetical concept, due to the lack of tools to unambiguously identify and trace this event. We established a high-throughput polyspermy detection assay, which uncovered that supernumerary sperm fusion does occur in planta and can generate viable polyploid offspring. Moreover, polyspermy can give rise to seedlings with one mother and two fathers, challenging the bi-organismal concept of parentage. The polyspermy derived triploids are taller and produce bigger organs than plants resulting from a regular monospermic fertilization. In addition, we demonstrate the hybridization potential of polyspermy by instantly combining three different Arabidopsis accessions in one zygote. Our results provide direct evidence for polyspermy as a route towards polyploidy, which is considered a major plant speciation mechanism.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Triparental plants provide direct evidence for polyspermy induced polyploidy

et al. 2017

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“…Sperm of flowering plants are immotile and delivered to the female gametes by the PT, which navigates through female tissues to the embryo sac, where it releases the two sperm to effect double fertilization [1]. Along its way, multiple processes ensure that usually only a single PT reaches the embryo sac, thus reducing the chances for polyspermy to occur [4]. In animals, the rapid block to polyspermy is associated with a fertilization-induced Ca 2+ wave.…”

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Polyspermy produces tri-parental seeds in maize

Grossniklaus

2017

Current Biology

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In flowering plants, two pairs of gametes participate in double fertilization. One of the two sperm delivered by the pollen tube (PT) fuses with the egg cell to form the zygote, whereas the second unites with the central cell to produce the endosperm [1]. Most animal species prevent polyspermy through a transient, fast block established by the depolarization of the egg membrane within milliseconds after encountering the first sperm, followed by a slow block generated through enzymatic changes in the extracellular matrix surrounding the egg [2]. Although in vitro fertilization experiments suggest that the maize zygote starts cell wall deposition within 30 seconds after fusion with a sperm [3], thereby preventing further fertilization events, it is unknown whether plant gametes prevent polyspermy by a fast block. Here, using a genetic approach, the absence of a fast block preventing polyspermy in the maize central cell is demonstrated. A putative polyspermy event involving the egg indicates the existence of tri-parental individuals, which may provide an alternative route to polyploidy, distinct from the one involving unreduced gametes.

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“…Furthermore, the possibility of occurrence of polyspermy has been proposed in maize and wheat (Rhoades, 1936;Suarez, Lopez, & Naranjo, 1992) and some orchids (Hagerup, 1947). In natural and cultivated populations of flowering plants, however, polyspermy has long remained a hypothetical concept because tools to detect naturally occurring polyspermy in higher plants have been lacking (Tekleyohans, Mao, Kägi, Stierhof, & Groß-Hardt, 2017). A recent breakthrough in experimental techniques has confirmed the production of progenies consisting of one mother and two fathers via heteropollination (-fertilization) in Arabidopsis (Nakel et al, 2017).…”

Section: How Do Triploids Emerge Via Polyspermy?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Polyspermy in angiosperms: Its contribution to polyploid formation and speciation

Toda

Okamoto

2019

Molecular Reproduction Devel

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Polyploidization has played a major role in the long‐term diversification and evolutionary success of angiosperms. Triploid formation among diploid plants, which is generally considered to be achieved by fertilization of an unreduced gamete with a reduced one, has been accepted as a means of polyploid production. In addition, it has been supposed that polyspermy also contributes to the triploid formation in maize, wheat, and some orchids; however, such a mechanism has been considered uncommon because reproducing the polyspermic situation and unambiguously investigating developmental profiles of polyspermic zygotes are difficult. To overcome these problems, rice polyspermic zygotes have been successfully produced by electrofusion of an egg cell with two sperm cells, and their developmental profiles have been monitored. The triploid zygotes progress through karyogamy and divide into two‐celled embryos via a typical bipolar mitotic division; the two‐celled embryos further develop into triploid plants, indicating that polyspermic plant zygotes, unlike those of animals, can develop normally. Furthermore, progenies consisting of triparental genetic materials have been successfully obtained in Arabidopsis through the pollination of two different kinds of male parents with a female parent. These different pieces of evidence for development and emergence of polyspermic zygotes in vitro and in planta suggest that polyspermy is a key event in polyploidization and species diversification.

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Polyspermy barriers: a plant perspective

Cited by 27 publications

References 68 publications

Triparental plants provide direct evidence for polyspermy induced polyploidy

Triparental plants provide direct evidence for polyspermy induced polyploidy

Polyspermy produces tri-parental seeds in maize

Polyspermy in angiosperms: Its contribution to polyploid formation and speciation

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