In flowering plants, the somatic-to-reproductive cell fate transition is marked by the specification of spore mother cells (SMCs) in floral organs of the adult plant. The female SMC (megaspore mother cell, MMC) differentiates in the ovule primordium and undergoes meiosis. The selected haploid megaspore then undergoes mitosis to form the multicellular female gametophyte, which will give rise to ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Fritillaria-type female gametophyte development is a complex, yet homoplasious developmental pattern that is interesting from both evolutionary and developmental perspectives. Piper (Piperaceae) was chosen for this study of Fritillaria-type female gametophyte development because Piperales represent a 'hotspot' of female gametophyte developmental evolution and have been the s...