Stamens undergo a very elaborate development program that gives rise not only to many specific tissue types, but also to the male gametes. The specification of stamen identity is coordinated by a group of homeotic genes such as APETALA3 (AP3) and PISTILLATA (PI), AGAMOUS (AG) and SEPALLATA (SEP1-4) genes. Genome-wide transcriptomic comparisons between floral buds of wild-type and ap3 mutants l...

Distyly has been confirmed in Fagopyrum dibotrys (D. Don) Hara. The species are dimorphic in style length, anther height, pollen size and number but not in flower diameter, pollen surface ornamentation and stigma papilla cells. In F. dibotrys populations, style-morph ratios vary from isoplethy (1L : 1S) to strongly L-biased, or they more often contain only the L-morph. Moreover, it was found th...

In flowering plants, diploid sporophytic tissues in ovules and anthers support meiosis and subsequent haploid gametophyte development. These analogous reproductive functions suggest that common mechanisms may regulate ovule and anther development. Two Arabidopsis Auxin Response Factors, ARF6 and ARF8, regulate gynoecium and stamen development in immature flowers. Wild-type pollen grew poorly in...

Transmembrane transport of plant hormones is required for plant growth and development. Despite reports of a number of proteins that can transport the plant hormone gibberellin (GA), the mechanistic basis for GA transport and the identities of the transporters involved remain incomplete. Here, we provide evidence that Arabidopsis SWEET proteins, AtSWEET13 and AtSWEET14, which are members of a f...

Among the different sources of genetic parthenocarpy described in tomato, the mutation referred to as parthenocarpic fruit (pat) is of particular interest because of its strong expressivity and because it confers earlier ripening, higher fruit set and enhanced fruit quality. As a pleiotropic effect, pat flowers have aberrantly developing androecia and reduced male and female fertility. In this ...

White campion is a dioecious plant with heteromorphic X and Y sex chromosomes. In male plants, a filamentous structure replaces the pistil, while in female plants the stamens degenerate early in flower development. Asexual (asx) mutants, cumulating the two developmental defects that characterize the sexual dimorphism in this species, were produced by gamma ray irradiation of pollen and screenin...

Viable pollen is essential for plant reproduction and crop yield. Its production requires coordinated expression at specific stages during anther development, involving early meiosis-associated events and late pollen wall formation. The ABORTED MICROSPORES (AMS) transcription factor is a master regulator of sporopollenin biosynthesis, secretion and pollen wall formation in Arabidopsis. Here we ...

The anther-specific gene LLA1271 isolated from lily (Lilium longiflorum Thunb.) anthers is novel and exists in two forms. The protein encoded by LLA1271 may represent an adhesin-like protein first found in higher plants. The protein contains a typical N-terminal signal peptide followed by a highly conserved repeat domain. The LLA1271 gene is temporally expressed at the phase of microspore devel...

In plants, secondary wall thickenings play important roles in various biological processes, although the factors regulating these processes remain to be characterized. We show that expression of chimeric repressors derived from NAC SECONDARY WALL THICKENING PROMOTING FACTOR1 (NST1) and NST2 in Arabidopsis thaliana resulted in an anther dehiscence defect due to loss of secondary wall thickening ...

Pollen plants from anther culture in rice breeding allows selection of fine strains in early generations. Exploitation of anther culture technique in research is limited due to very low regeneration frequency of indica cultivars and the transfer of anther culture traits from japonica to indica varieties is important in improving these rice varieties. In this study the optimization of media requ...