title: "Love Is Strong, and You're so Sweet": JAGGER Is Essential for Persistent Synergid Degeneration and Polytubey Block in Arabidopsis thaliana.
abstract: Successful double fertilization and subsequent seed development in flowering plants requires the delivery of two sperm cells, transported by a pollen tube, into the embryo sac of an ovule. The embryo sac cells tightly control synergid cell death, and as a result the polyspermy block. Arabinogalactan proteins are highly glycosylated proteins thought to be involved in several steps of the reproductive process. We show that JAGGER, Arabinogalactan Protein 4, is an important molecule necessary to prevent the growth of multiple pollen tubes into one embryo sac in Arabidopsis thaliana. In jagger, an AGP4 knockout mutant, the pistils show impaired pollen tube blockage as a consequence of the survival of the persistent synergid. JAGGER seems to be involved in the signaling pathway that leads to a blockage of pollen tube attraction. Our results shed light on the mechanism responsible for preventing polyspermy in Arabidopsis and for safeguarding successful fertilization of all ovules in one pistil, ensuring seed set and the next generation.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal; Plant Functional Genomics Group, Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI), 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana Marta
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal; Plant Functional Genomics Group, Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI), 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Margarida Sofia
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Nobre
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal; Plant Functional Genomics Group, Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI), 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sara Cristina
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal; Plant Functional Genomics Group, Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI), 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ana Lúcia
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal; Plant Functional Genomics Group, Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI), 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Mário Luís
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di BioScienze, Università degli Studi di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Masiero
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal; Plant Functional Genomics Group, Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI), 4169-007 Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: scoimbra@fc.up.pt.
authors.forename: Sílvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Coimbra
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005306:Fertilization; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D009088:Mucoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D053205:Pollen Tube / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D034622:RNA Interference; D012639:Seeds / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C000613414:AGP4 protein, Arabidopsis; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D009088:Mucoproteins
keywords: Polytubey; arabinogalactan proteins; persistent synergid; polyspermy