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Calendar Name: seminars
Scheduled for: Tuesday, May 28 2013, 11:00 - 12:30
Event text:    Prof Ueli Grossniklaus
	       
	       Plant Developmental Genetics
	       Institute of Plant Biology
	       University of Zürich 
	       
	       Zürich
	       Switzerland
Details:       “Molecular control of fertilization and interspecific
	       hybridization”
	       
	       ABSTRACT
	       Lena Müller, Heike Lindner, Sharon A. Kessler, Michael
	       T. Raissig, Hiroko Shimosato-Asano, Ueli Grossniklaus
	       
	       Research in our laboratory focuses on the developmental
	       genetics of plant reproduction, with an emphasis on
	       cellular interactions during double fertilization. I
	       will focus on the reception of the pollen tube by the
	       synergid cells, where the pollen tube arrests growth and
	       ruptures to release the sperm cells. We have isolated
	       and characterized female gametophytic mutants that
	       disrupt pollen tube reception. Pollen tubes that
	       encounter such mutant female gametophytes are unable to
	       rupture and release the sperm cells (Huck et al.,
	       Development 130:2149; Kessler et al., Science 330:968).
	       These phenotypes suggest that the female gametophyte
	       controls the behaviour of the male gametophyte (pollen)
	       in this process. One of the mutants, feronia, was shown
	       to affect a receptor-like kinase (Escobar-Restrepo et
	       al., Science 317:656), while another, nortia, disrupts a
	       seven-transmembrane-domain-protein similar to the
	       powdery mildew resistance protein Mlo (Kessler et al.,
	       Science 330:968). The identification of additional
	       components in this signal transduction cascade suggest
	       the involvement of glycosylation in this recognition
	       process. Furthermore, interspecific crosses between
	       Brassicaceae can result in a similar phenotype,
	       suggesting the cell-cell interactions during pollen tube
	       reception may be involved in interspecific crossing
	       barriers. Using genome-wide association studies, we have
	       been able to identify a factor that plays a specific
	       role in interspecific compatibility while intraspecific
	       crosses are not affected. Thus, pollen tube reception
	       may be involved in establishing crossing barriers
	       essential to maintain species boundaries similar to
	       sperm-egg interactions in animals.

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