1. Maternal Control of Male-Gamete Delivery in Arabidopsis Involves a Putative GPI-Anchored Protein Encoded by the LORELEI Gene[W]
- Author
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Mathieu Gourgues, Gabriela Carolina Pagnussat, Jean Emmanuel Faure, Cesar Alvarez-Mejia, Arnaud Capron, Venkatesan Sundaresan, Anjali Krishnan, Jean Philippe Vielle-Calzada, Frédéric Berger, Yuh Ru Lee, Bo Liu, Lissiene S. Neiva, Department of Plant Biology, University of California [Davis] (UC Davis), University of California (UC)-University of California (UC), Interactions Biotiques et Santé Végétale, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS de Lyon), National Laboratory of Genomics for Biodiversity (LANGEBIO), Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV), University of California-University of California, and École normale supérieure - Lyon (ENS Lyon)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,DNA, Plant ,Glycosylphosphatidylinositols ,Molecular Sequence Data ,Arabidopsis ,POLLEN TUBE ,Context (language use) ,Plant Science ,Biology ,01 natural sciences ,Double fertilization ,[SDV.GEN.GPL]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Genetics/Plants genetics ,03 medical and health sciences ,Botany ,medicine ,Amino Acid Sequence ,Research Articles ,030304 developmental biology ,Gametophyte ,0303 health sciences ,Arabidopsis Proteins ,Chromosome Mapping ,food and beverages ,ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA ,Embryo ,Cell Biology ,Sperm ,Cell biology ,Pollen tube reception ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Germ Cells ,Fertilization ,Mutation ,Gamete ,Pollen tube ,LORELEI GENE ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
In Angiosperms, the male gametes are delivered to the female gametes through the maternal reproductive tissue by the pollen tube. Upon arrival, the pollen tube releases the two sperm cells, permitting double fertilization to take place. Although the critical role of the female gametophyte in pollen tube reception has been demonstrated, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we describe lorelei, an Arabidopsis thaliana mutant impaired in sperm cell release, reminiscent of the feronia/sirène mutant. Pollen tubes reaching lorelei embryo sacs frequently do not rupture but continue to grow in the embryo sac. Furthermore, lorelei embryo sacs continue to attract additional pollen tubes after arrival of the initial pollen tube. The LORELEI gene is expressed in the synergid cells prior to fertilization and encodes a small plant-specific putative glucosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein (GAP). These results provide support for the concept of signaling mechanisms at the synergid cell membrane by which the female gametophyte recognizes the arrival of a compatible pollen tube and promotes sperm release. Although GAPs have previously been shown to play critical roles in initiation of fertilization in mammals, flowering plants appear to have independently evolved reproductive mechanisms that use the unique features of these proteins within a similar biological context.
- Published
- 2008