Reproduction Multitasking: The Male Gametophyte
Language English Country United States Media print-electronic
Document type Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review
- Keywords
- cell–cell communication, double fertilization, heterospory, male gametophyte, pollen tube guidance, translation regulation,
- MeSH
- Biological Evolution MeSH
- Magnoliopsida * MeSH
- Pollen * MeSH
- Pollen Tube MeSH
- Reproduction MeSH
- Signal Transduction MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Review MeSH
The gametophyte represents the sexual phase in the alternation of generations in plants; the other, nonsexual phase is the sporophyte. Here, we review the evolutionary origins of the male gametophyte among land plants and, in particular, its ontogenesis in flowering plants. The highly reduced male gametophyte of angiosperm plants is a two- or three-celled pollen grain. Its task is the production of two male gametes and their transport to the female gametophyte, the embryo sac, where double fertilization takes place. We describe two phases of pollen ontogenesis-a developmental phase leading to the differentiation of the male germline and the formation of a mature pollen grain and a functional phase representing the pollen tube growth, beginning with the landing of the pollen grain on the stigma and ending with double fertilization. We highlight recent advances in the complex regulatory mechanisms involved, including posttranscriptional regulation and transcript storage, intracellular metabolic signaling, pollen cell wall structure and synthesis, protein secretion, and phased cell-cell communication within the reproductive tissues.
References provided by Crossref.org
A protocol for in vivo RNA labeling and visualization in tobacco pollen tubes
Regulatory dynamics of gene expression in the developing male gametophyte of Arabidopsis
A Decade of Pollen Phosphoproteomics
Hormonome Dynamics During Microgametogenesis in Different Nicotiana Species
