The angiosperm seed is composed of three genetically distinct tissues: the diploid embryo that originates from the fertilized egg cell, the triploid endosperm that is produced from the fertilized central cell, and the maternal sporophytic integuments that develop into the seed coat1. At the onset of embryo development in Arabidopsis thaliana, the zygote divides asymmetrically, producing a small apical embryonic cell and a larger basal cell that connects the embryo to the maternal tissue2. The coordinated and synchronous development of the embryo and the surrounding integuments, and the alignment of their growth axes, suggest communication between maternal tissues and the embryo. In contrast to animals, however, where a network of maternal factors that direct embryo patterning have been identified3,4, only a few maternal mutations have been described to affect embryo development in plants5-7. Early embryo patterning in Arabidopsis requires accumulation of the phytohormone auxin in the apical cell by directed transport from the suspensor8-10. However, the origin of this auxin has remained obscure. Here we investigate the source of auxin for early embryogenesis and provide evidence that the mother plant coordinates seed development by supplying auxin to the early embryo from the integuments of the ovule. We show that auxin response increases in ovules after fertilization, due to upregulated auxin biosynthesis in the integuments, and this maternally produced auxin is required for correct embryo development.

BIOSS Centre for Biological Signaling Studies Faculty of Biology Albert Ludwigs Universitaet Freiburg Freiburg Germany

Cell Biology and Plant Biochemistry Biochemie Zentrum Regensburg University of Regensburg Regensburg Germany

Department of Genetics Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection University of Silesia Katowice Poland

Department of Plant Systems Biology Flanders Institute for Biotechnology and Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Ghent University Gent Belgium

Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology Austrian Academy of Sciences Vienna Austria

Institute of Science and Technology Austria Klosterneuburg Austria

Laboratory of Growth Regulators Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research Faculty of Science of Palacký University and Institute of Experimental Botany CAS Olomouc Czech Republic

Mendel Centre for Genomics and Proteomics of Plants Systems CEITEC MU Central European Institute of Technology Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

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