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Whole-mount Clearing and Staining of Arabidopsis Flower Organs and Siliques

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Published on: April 12, 2018

Female gametophyte development in flowering plants.

Wei-Cai Yang¹, Dong-Qiao Shi, Yan-Hong Chen

¹Key Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. wcyang@genetics.ac.cn

Annual Review of Plant Biology

|March 3, 2010

Summary

Discover how plant embryo sac polarity and cell fate are regulated. Recent studies reveal auxin gradients and key genes controlling female gametophyte development in higher plants.

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Area of Science:

Plant biology
Developmental biology
Genetics

Background:

The multicellular female gametophyte is a unique experimental system in higher plants.
Understanding its development addresses fundamental biological questions.

Purpose of the Study:

To review recent insights into embryo sac polarity and gametophytic cell specification.
To highlight molecular and genetic mechanisms controlling gametic cell fate.

Main Methods:

Focus on molecular and genetic data.
Analysis of gene functions in gametophyte development.

Main Results:

An auxin gradient was identified as a regulator of female gametophyte cell fate.
Key genes controlling gametic cell fate have been identified.

Conclusions:

Significant progress has been made in understanding embryo sac polarity and cell specification.
Molecular and genetic factors play crucial roles in regulating gametic cell fate.