With plants, matchmaking is a sticky situation
University of Missouri researchers identify pollen proteins that contribute to the signaling process necessary for plant reproduction
Photo by Adam Masloski, Illumination Magazine
Humans are so simple.
A come-hither look or perhaps a Barry White song can be enough to communicate a desire for sex.
But it’s more complicated for plants. They communicate about reproduction on a molecular level, using pollen (a male component of the flower) and the pistil (the female part of the flower). The information that’s exchanged helps them determine appropriate mating partners and to avoid inbreeding.
Now, researchers from the University of Missouri have identified pollen proteins that contribute to the signaling process that determines if a plant accepts or rejects individual pollen grains for reproduction.
“The pollen must, in some way, announce to the pistil its identity, and the pistil must interpret this identity,” said Bruce McClure, associate director of the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center at the University of Missouri. “To do this, proteins from the pollen and proteins from the pistil interact: This determines the acceptance or rejection of individual pollen grains.”
In a study published recently in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the researchers described how they used two pistil proteins as bait to see what pollen proteins would bind to them. Three separate proteins did bind, an action suggesting that the proteins probably contribute to the signaling process that affects the success of pollen growth.
For the study, researchers used a relative of tobacco commonly grown in gardens known as flowering tobacco.
“Our experiment was like putting one side of a Velcro strip on two pistil proteins to see which of the pollen proteins have the complimentary Velcro strip for binding,” McClure said. “If it sticks, it’s a good indication that the pollen proteins work with the pistil proteins to determine the success of reproduction.”
Reprinted with permission of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, copyright 2008.