The peri-germ cell membrane: poorly characterized but key interface for plant reproduction
Résumé
Pollen is the male gametophyte of flowering plants, the typically haploid generation of the plant life cycle that produces the male gametes. Upon germination, pollen grains extend a pollen tube to transport the male gametes (sperm cells) towards the ovules for double fertilization of the female gametes harboured by the female gametophyte or the embryo sac. Pollen grains exhibit a unique ‘cell(s) within a cell’ organization. After meiosis, each single-celled microspore divides highly asymmetrically to give rise to a vegetative cell and a generative cell. The generative cell is subsequently engulfed by the vegetative cell, separates from the external pollen wall and thus becomes enclosed within the large vegetative cell while migrating to the centre of the pollen grain. Later in development, the generative cell divides into a pair of sperm cells. As a result of this developmental process, a unique membrane surrounds the male germ cells (the generative cell and subsequently the two sperm cells). Here we propose to standardize and unify the name of this membrane as the peri-germ cell membrane.
Domaines
Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]| Origine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
|---|---|
| Licence |
