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Flowering plants (angiosperms) perform a unique double fertilization in which two sperm cells fuse with two female gamete cells in the embryo sac to develop a seed. Furthermore, during land plant evolution, the mode of sexual reproduction has been modified dramatically from motile sperm in the early-diverging land plants, such as mosses and ferns as well as some gymnosperms (Ginkgo and cycads) to nonmotile sperm that are delivered to female gametes by the pollen tube in flowering plants. Recent studies have revealed the cellular dynamics and molecular mechanisms for the complex series of double fertilization processes and elucidated differences and similarities between animals and plants. Here, together with a brief comparison with animals, we review the current understanding of flowering plant zygote dynamics, covering from gamete nuclear migration, karyogamy, and polyspermy block, to zygotic genome activation as well as asymmetrical division of the zygote. Further analyses of the detailed molecular and cellular mechanisms of flowering plant fertilization should shed light on the evolution of the unique sexual reproduction of flowering plants.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jez.b.22981 | DOI Listing |
Glob Chang Biol
September 2025
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Droughts are increasing with climate change, affecting the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems and limiting their capacity to mitigate rising atmospheric CO levels. However, there is still large uncertainty on the long-term impacts of drought on ecosystem carbon (C) cycling, and how this determines the effect of subsequent droughts. Here, we aimed to quantify how drought legacy affects the response of a heathland ecosystem to a subsequent drought for two life stages of Calluna vulgaris resulting from different mowing regimes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAnn Bot
September 2025
Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
Background And Aims: Since the Industrial Revolution, rising atmospheric CO₂, warming, and more frequent droughts have significantly impacted ecosystems. While the response of leaf functional traits to these climate change factors have been widely studied, reproductive traits remain relatively understudied, despite their key role in the diversification and distribution of flowering plants. Here, we investigated how elevated CO₂, warming, drought, and their interactions affect floral, leaf and seed traits in two model grassland species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuropsychopharmacol Rep
September 2025
Tanashi Kitaguchi Acupuncture and Moxa Clinic, Tokyo, Japan.
This image visualizes the weighing of commercial incentives against research integrity, highlighting the challenge of maintaining transparency in CBD-related studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnviron Microbiol Rep
October 2025
Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador.
Plant roots are colonised by diverse communities of microorganisms that can affect plant growth and enhance plant resistance to (a) biotic stresses. We investigated the role of the indigenous soil microbiome in the resistance of tomato to the invasive sap-sucking insect Prodiplosis longifila (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae). Native and agricultural soils were sampled from the Andes in Southern Ecuador and tested, in greenhouse bioassays, for leaf tissue damage caused by P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGenome Biol
September 2025
Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101, Beijing, China.
Background: Centromeres are crucial for precise chromosome segregation and maintaining genome stability during cell division. However, their evolutionary dynamics, particularly in polyploid organisms with complex genomic architectures, remain largely enigmatic. Allopolyploid wheat, with its well-defined hierarchical ploidy series and recent polyploidization history, serves as an excellent model to explore centromere evolution.
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