{"title":"A two-step self-pollination mechanism maximizes fertility in Brassicaceae","authors":"Pu Liu, Xin Quan, Zihan Song, Wenhao Li, Yuan Wang, Hongya Gu, Daoxin Xie, Weicai Yang, Thomas Dresselhaus, Sheng Zhong, Li-Jia Qu","doi":"10.1016/j.cell.2025.03.021","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Self-pollination in self-compatible plant species often occurs prior to flower opening. By tracking the temporal progress of pollination in Arabidopsis, we observed that pollen predominantly targets the lateral region of the stigma in unopened flowers. Notably, approximately 7 h after flower opening, flowers close, thereby pressing anthers toward the central region of the stigma for a second self-pollination. This two-step self-pollination results in a doubling of pollen deposition, which significantly increases the ovule-targeting ratio and improves fertility under pollen-limiting conditions, as evident in the anther-dehiscence-defective mutant <em>myb108</em> and under environmental stress conditions. Analysis using gamete-interaction-defective mutants <em>hap2/gcs1</em> and <em>dmp8 dmp9</em> revealed that the timely separation of both pollination events promotes fertilization recovery efficiency. A similar two-step pollination was observed in two other self-pollinating but not in outcrossing Brassicaceae species. This mechanism represents a reproductive assurance strategy in predominantly self-pollinating annuals to maximize fertility under unfavorable conditions.","PeriodicalId":9656,"journal":{"name":"Cell","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":45.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Cell","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.03.021","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Self-pollination in self-compatible plant species often occurs prior to flower opening. By tracking the temporal progress of pollination in Arabidopsis, we observed that pollen predominantly targets the lateral region of the stigma in unopened flowers. Notably, approximately 7 h after flower opening, flowers close, thereby pressing anthers toward the central region of the stigma for a second self-pollination. This two-step self-pollination results in a doubling of pollen deposition, which significantly increases the ovule-targeting ratio and improves fertility under pollen-limiting conditions, as evident in the anther-dehiscence-defective mutant myb108 and under environmental stress conditions. Analysis using gamete-interaction-defective mutants hap2/gcs1 and dmp8 dmp9 revealed that the timely separation of both pollination events promotes fertilization recovery efficiency. A similar two-step pollination was observed in two other self-pollinating but not in outcrossing Brassicaceae species. This mechanism represents a reproductive assurance strategy in predominantly self-pollinating annuals to maximize fertility under unfavorable conditions.
期刊介绍:
Cells is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal that focuses on cell biology, molecular biology, and biophysics. It is affiliated with several societies, including the Spanish Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (SEBBM), Nordic Autophagy Society (NAS), Spanish Society of Hematology and Hemotherapy (SEHH), and Society for Regenerative Medicine (Russian Federation) (RPO).
The journal publishes research findings of significant importance in various areas of experimental biology, such as cell biology, molecular biology, neuroscience, immunology, virology, microbiology, cancer, human genetics, systems biology, signaling, and disease mechanisms and therapeutics. The primary criterion for considering papers is whether the results contribute to significant conceptual advances or raise thought-provoking questions and hypotheses related to interesting and important biological inquiries.
In addition to primary research articles presented in four formats, Cells also features review and opinion articles in its "leading edge" section, discussing recent research advancements and topics of interest to its wide readership.