title: Independent control by each female gamete prevents the attraction of multiple pollen tubes.
abstract: In flowering plants, double fertilization is normally accomplished by the first pollen tube, with the fertilized ovule subsequently inhibiting the attraction of a second pollen tube. However, the mechanism of second-pollen-tube avoidance remains unknown. We discovered that failure to fertilize either the egg cell or the central cell compromised second-pollen-tube avoidance in Arabidopsis thaliana. A similar disturbance was caused by disrupting the fertilization-independent seed (FIS) class polycomb-repressive complex 2 (FIS-PRC2), a central cell- and endosperm-specific chromatin-modifying complex for gene silencing. Therefore, the two female gametes have evolved their own signaling pathways. Intriguingly, second-pollen-tube attraction induced by half-successful fertilization allowed the ovules to complete double fertilization, producing a genetically distinct embryo and endosperm. We thus propose that each female gamete independently determines second-pollen-tube avoidance to maximize reproductive fitness in flowering plants.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hamamura
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Daichi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Susaki
authors.forename: Moe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishimaki
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kurihara
authors.forename: Ryushiro D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Kasahara
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Higashiyama
mesh_terms: D000814:Aniline Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D016923:Cell Death; D042002:Chromatin Assembly and Disassembly; D005306:Fertilization; D005453:Fluorescence; D020868:Gene Silencing; D056084:Genetic Fitness; D056771:Ovule / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D053205:Pollen Tube / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D054817:Pollination; D063151:Polycomb Repressive Complex 2; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000814:Aniline Compounds; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; C117389:FIS2 protein, Arabidopsis; C574170:PRC2 protein, Arabidopsis; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C017006:aniline blue; D063151:Polycomb Repressive Complex 2