The female tree 'expresses' consent or rejects male plants

Since there are no eyes and ears, the plant must rely on the interaction of the molecules to determine the appropriate partner to avoid close mating. In a new study, University of Missouri researchers identified pollen proteins that contribute to signaling that determines whether a tree agrees or rejects individual pollen grains. is not.

Like humans, mating is not easy for plants. Plants rely on external factors such as wind, pets that give them potential mating in the form of pollen grains. When pollen seeds arrive, the meeting occurs through a "conversation" between the pollen (male reproductive organ) and pistil (the female reproductive organ of the flower). In this conversation, molecules replace words, allowing the pollen to "express itself" when meeting the pistil. 'Listening' to this molecular conversation can provide a way to control the spread of grafted genes from genetically engineered plants to wild relatives, and provide more feasible measures to check. controlling pollination between species, leading to a more effective method of growing fruit trees.

"Unlike visual clues that help animals choose their partners, the presence of plant partners occurs at the molecular level." - Bruce McClure, deputy director of Christopher S. Bond Life Science Center and a researcher from the MU Multidisciplinary Crops Group and the Department of Biochemistry, said. "Somehow, the pollen must 'introduce' itself when meeting the pistil, the pistil must understand the identity of the seed. chalk. To do this, proteins in pollen grains and proteins in the pistil must interact with each other. This interaction specifies whether the pollen is approved or rejected. '

Red hibiscus flowers.The researchers identified pollen proteins that contribute to signaling that regulates whether a tree approves or rejects pollen grains to pollinate.(Credit: iStockphoto / Adam Dodd)

In the study, scientists used two specific pistil proteins, NaTTS and 120K, as "bait" to see which pollen grains would bind to them.These two types of pistil proteins are used because they directly affect the development of pollen grains from the pistil to the ovary where the pollination takes place.

Three proteins, proteins bind to S-RNase (SBP1), NaPCCP protein and another enzyme, linked to the pistil protein. This suggests that these proteins seem to contribute to the signaling process that affects the successful development of pollen grains.

McClure said: "Our test placed one side of the Velcro strip on two pistil proteins, then scanned the set of pollen protein proteins to see which pollen grain protein had additional Velcro strips to bind to. then this is an indication that pollen protein is coordinated with the pistil protein to determine the success of the reproductive process. '

In the previous study, McClure showed that S-RNase, a protein on the pistil, produces pollen-removing reactions from close relatives by playing a role like cytotoxin, or toxic, in pollen tubes.

In the study, the group used Nicotiana alata, a relative of tobacco plants, often grown in home gardens as a 'flowering tobacco plant' . The study titled 'Pollen Proteins Bind to the C-Terminal Domain of Nicotiana Alata Pistil Arabinogalactan Proteins' was published in the Journal of Biochemistry, with co-author McClure, Kirby N. Swatek - biochemical research student learn; and Christopher B. Lee, a postdoctoral researcher at the Bond Life Science Center.