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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Live Imaging of Arabidopsis Pollen Tube Reception and Double Fertilization Using the Semi-In Vitro Cum Septum Method
Published on: February 24, 2023
Chemical signaling for pollen tube guidance at a glance
Yoko Mizuta1,2, Tetsuya Higashiyama3,4
1Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8601, Japan mizuta.yoko@f.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Pollen tube guidance is a unique navigating system that is required for the successful sexual reproduction of plants. As plant sperm cells are non-motile and egg cells are embedded deep inside the female tissues, a pollen tube delivers the two sperm cells that it contains by growing towards the ovule, in which the egg cell resides. Pollen tube growth towards the ovule is precisely controlled and divided into two stages, preovular and ovular guidance. In this Cell Science at a Glance article and accompanying poster, we provide a comprehensive overview of pollen tube guidance and highlight some of the attractant peptides used during ovular guidance. We further discuss the precise one-to-one guidance system that exists in multi-ovular plants. The pollen tube-blocking system, which is mediated by male-female crosstalk communication, to avoid attraction of multiple pollen tubes, is also reviewed.
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