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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Live Imaging of Arabidopsis Pollen Tube Reception and Double Fertilization Using the Semi-In Vitro Cum Septum Method
Published on: February 24, 2023
Conserved molecular components for pollen tube reception and fungal invasion
Sharon A Kessler1, Hiroko Shimosato-Asano, Nana F Keinath
1Institute of Plant Biology and Zürich Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zürich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008 Zürich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
During sexual reproduction in flowering plants such as Arabidopsis, a tip-growing pollen tube (PT) is guided to the synergid cells of the female gametophyte, where it bursts and releases the two sperm. Here we show that PT reception and powdery mildew (PM) infection, which involves communication between a tip-growing hypha and a plant epidermal cell, share molecular components. NORTIA (NTA), a member of the MLO family originally discovered in the context of PM resistance, and FERONIA (FER), a receptor-like kinase, both control PT reception in synergids. Homozygous fer mutants also display PM resistance, revealing a new function for FER and suggesting that conserved components, such as FER and distinct MLO proteins, are involved in both PT reception and PM infection.
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