She's the boss: signaling in pollen tube reception

Abstract

In angiosperms, the sperm cells are carried within the pollen tubes (male gametophytes) to the female gametophyte so that double fertilization can occur. The female gametophyte exerts control over the male, with specialized cells known as synergids guiding the pollen tubes and controlling their behavior when they enter the female gametophyte so that the sperm cells can be delivered to the egg and central cell. Upon pollen tube arrival at the ovule, signal transduction cascades mediated by receptor-like kinases are initiated in both the synergid and the tip of the pollen tube, leading to synergid cell death and pollen tube rupture. In this review, we discuss the role of these receptors and of newly discovered members of the pollen tube reception pathway. AbstractIn angiosperms, the sperm cells are carried within the pollen tubes (male gametophytes) to the female gametophyte so that double fertilization can occur. The female gametophyte exerts control over the male, with specialized cells known as synergids guiding the pollen tubes and controlling their behavior when they enter the female gametophyte so that the sperm cells can be delivered to the egg and central cell. Upon pollen tube arrival at the ovule, signal transduction cascades mediated by receptor-like kinases are initiated in both the synergid and the tip of the pollen tube, leading to synergid cell death and pollen tube rupture. In this review, we discuss the role of these receptors and of newly discovered members of the pollen tube reception pathway.3

The Role of LORELEI in Pollen Tube Reception at the Interface of the Synergid Cell and Pollen Tube Requires the Modified Eight-Cysteine Motif and the Receptor-Like Kinase FERONIA

“…The success of plant reproduction depends on a series of cell-cell interactions between the male and female gametophytes (Kessler and Grossniklaus, 2011;Palanivelu and Tsukamoto, 2012;Beale and Johnson, 2013;Qu et al, 2015). In Arabidopsis thaliana, the mature male gametophyte (pollen) consists of two sperm cells and a vegetative cell (Twell, 2011), whereas the female gametophyte consists of five accessory cells (three antipodal cells and two synergids) and two gametic cells (one egg cell and one central cell) (Yadegari and Drews, 2004;Yang et al, 2010;Song et al, 2014).…”

Signaling Events in Pollen Acceptance or Rejection in the Arabidopsis Species

“…After a pollen tube grows through the stigmatic papillar cell wall to the base of the stigma, it enters into the transmitting tract, growing down to an ovule, where fertilization takes place (Lennon et al 1998 ;Cheung et al 2010 ). A number of factors have also been identifi ed for these later stages (Kessler and Grossniklaus 2011 ;Takeuchi and Higashiyama 2011 ).…”

Egg Apparatus in Sexual and Apomictic Species of Taraxacum: Structural and Immunocytochemical Aspects of Synergid Cells

“…At the micropylar pole of the synergid the cell wall is thickened and forms finger-like projections into the synergid cell cytoplasm which are known as the filiform apparatus (FA) (Willemse and van Went, 1984;Huang and Russell, 1992;Higashiyama, 2002). Many genetic, molecular and physiological studies done in the last decade, examining Arabidopsis thaliana, Zea mays and Torenia fournieri, have confirmed the crucial reproductive functions of synergids and have elucidated the role of the FA in pollen tube attraction and reception (for review see Punwani et al, 2007Li et al, 2009;Dresselhaus and Márton, 2009;Okuda et al, 2009;Kessler and Grossniklaus, 2011). Since embryo and endosperm development is independent of pollination in autonomous apomicts, it seems desirable to determine whether this is reflected in the structure of synergid cells.…”