Cotton fibres, the single-celled trichomes derived from the ovule epidermis, provide the most important natural material for the global textile industry. A number of studies have demonstrated that regulating endogenous hormone levels through transgenic approaches can improve cotton fibre qualities. Phytosulfokine-α (PSK-α) is a novel peptide hormone in plants that is involved in regulating cell...

In most plants, the female germline starts with the differentiation of one megaspore mother cell (MMC) in each ovule that produces four megaspores through meiosis, one of which survives to become the functional megaspore (FM). The FM further develops into an embryo sac. Little is known regarding the control of MMC formation to one per ovule and the selective survival of the FM. The ICK/KRPs (in...

The aim of the study was to investigate changes in the localization of arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) during ovule development in Fragaria x ananassa Duch. cv. ‘Mount Everest’. For the first time, the localization of AGPs was studied in a hybrid Fragaria x ananassa, which is a facultative apomict. The AGP epitopes were revealed with the use of JIM13 mAb after immune cyto chemical reaction and ...

Morphological transitions associated with ovule diversification provide unique opportunities for studies of developmental evolution. Here, we investigate the underlying mechanisms of one such transition, reduction in integument number, which has occurred several times among diverse angiosperms. In particular, reduction in integument number occurred early in the history of the asterids, a large ...

The plant life cycle alternates between the diploid sporophyte (spore-producing organism) and the haploid gametophyte (gamete-producing organism). The female gametophyte of flowering plants develops within the ovule, a specialized structure within the ovary, which gives rise to the seed after fertilization. The female gametophyte, or embryo sac, contains a small number of clonally derived cell ...

Epigenetic modifications are highlighted for their great importance in regulating plant development, but their function associated with single-cell differentiation remains undetermined. Here, we used the cotton fibre, which is the epidermal hair on the cotton ovule, as a model to investigate the regulatory role of DNA methylation in cell differentiation. The level of CHH (H = A, T, or C) DNA me...

In pea, high temperatures during reproductive development lead to severe yield loss. Although the ovule is seed precursor, studies elucidating effect of heat on this plant structure are scarce. We investigated impact in field and growth chamber ovules 4 days after open flower (4DOF) stage. Objectives were identify associations between ovaries performance, evaluate set abortion heat-treated plan...

Protein ubiquitination is critical for numerous processes in eukaryotes. The ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2) is required for ubiquitination. The Arabidopsis genome has approximately 37 E2 genes, but in vivo functions for most of them remain unknown. In this study we observed that knockout mutants of Arabidopsis UBC22 had much-reduced silique length and seed number, with nearly 90% of ovules a...