Publications by authors named "Nao Kawano"
Background And Aims: During sexual reproduction in higher angiosperms, the pollen tubes are directed to the ovules in the pistil to deliver sperm cells. This pollen tube attraction is highly species specific, and a group of small secreted proteins, TfCRPs, are necessary for this process in Torenia fournieri.
Methods: A candidate pollen tube attractant protein in Torenia concolor, a related species of T.
Article Synopsis
- For over 140 years, scientists believed that pollen tubes in flowering plants were guided by attractants from ovules, but concrete evidence for a specific molecule was lacking.
- Recent research has identified secreted cysteine-rich polypeptides (CRPs) from synergid cells as key attractants in the final stage of pollen tube guidance.
- In experiments with the plant Torenia fournieri, two specific CRPs, named LUREs, were shown to effectively attract pollen tubes, and blocking these molecules reduced attraction, confirming their role as the signaling attractants.