The production of plant pollen is regulated by several signalling pathways
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 - 15:01
in Biology & Nature
(PhysOrg.com) -- Plants producing flower pollen must not leave anything to chance. The model plant thale cress (Arabidopsis), for instance, uses three signalling pathways in concert with partially overlapping functions. The yield becomes the greatest when all three processes are active; however, two are sufficient to form an acceptable quantity of flower pollen. In a new study, Peter Huijser and his colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne offer fascinating insights into the rich range of proteins that are used by seed plants to develop stamens and form flower pollen. The rule for plant survival is simple: to stay in the game, you have to reproduce.