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Polyspermy barriers: a plant perspective

Authors :
York-Dieter Stierhof
Christina Kägi
Dawit G. Tekleyohans
Rita Groß-Hardt
Yanbo Mao
Source :
Current opinion in plant biology, Current Opinion in Plant Biology
Publication Year :
2017
Publisher :
Elsevier BV, 2017.

Abstract

A common denominator of sexual reproduction in many eukaryotic species is the exposure of an egg to excess sperm to maximize the chances of reproductive success. To avoid potential harmful or deleterious consequences of supernumerary sperm fusion to a single female gamete (polyspermy), many eukaryotes, including plants, have evolved barriers preventing polyspermy. Typically, these checkpoints are implemented at different stages in the reproduction process. The virtual absence of unambiguous reports of naturally occurring egg cell polyspermy in flowering plants is likely reflecting the success of this multiphasic strategy and highlights the difficulty to trace this presumably rare event. We here focus on potential polyspermy avoidance mechanisms in plants and discuss them in light of analogous processes in animals.

Details

ISSN :
13695266
Volume :
35
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Current Opinion in Plant Biology
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....0861042d610c577a8fddb61ee0b52ecf
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2016.11.012