Arabidopsis DUO POLLEN3 is a key regulator of male germline development and embryogenesis.

Male germline development in angiosperms produces the pair of sperm cells required for double fertilization. A key regulator of this process in Arabidopsis thaliana is the male germline-specific transcription factor DUO POLLEN1 (DUO1) that coordinates germ cell division and gamete specification. Here, we uncover the role of DUO3, a nuclear protein that has a distinct, but overlapping role with DUO1 in male germline development.

A novel class of MYB factors controls sperm-cell formation in plants.

In contrast to animals, the plant male germline is established after meiosis in distinctive haploid structures, termed pollen grains. The germline arises by a distinct asymmetric division of the meiotic products . The fates of the resulting vegetative and generative cells are distinct.

Male germ line development in Arabidopsis. duo pollen mutants reveal gametophytic regulators of generative cell cycle progression.

Male germ line development in flowering plants is initiated with the formation of the generative cell that is the progenitor of the two sperm cells. While structural features of the generative cell are well documented, genetic programs required for generative cell cycle progression are unknown. We describe two novel Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutants, duo pollen1 (duo1) and duo pollen2 (duo2), in which generative cell division is blocked, resulting in the formation of bicellular pollen grains at anthesis.