Signaling in Pollen Tube Growth: Beyond the Tip of the Polarity Iceberg
1
School of Biological Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4236, USA
2
Center for Reproductive Biology, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Plants 2019, 8(6), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8060156
Received: 30 April 2019 / Revised: 4 June 2019 / Accepted: 6 June 2019 / Published: 7 June 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Reproduction)
The coordinated growth of pollen tubes through floral tissues to deliver the sperm cells to the egg and facilitate fertilization is a highly regulated process critical to the Angiosperm life cycle. Studies suggest that the concerted action of a variety of signaling pathways underlies the rapid polarized tip growth exhibited by pollen tubes. Ca2+ and small GTPase-mediated pathways have emerged as major players in the regulation of pollen tube growth. Evidence suggests that these two signaling pathways not only integrate with one another but also with a variety of other important signaling events. As we continue to elucidate the mechanisms involved in pollen tube growth, there is a growing importance in taking a holistic approach to studying these pathways in order to truly understand how tip growth in pollen tubes is orchestrated and maintained. This review considers our current state of knowledge of Ca2+-mediated and GTPase signaling pathways in pollen tubes, how they may intersect with one another, and other signaling pathways involved. There will be a particular focus on recent reports that have extended our understanding in these areas.
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Keywords:
pollen tube tip growth; polarity; Ca2+ signaling; ROP GTPase
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MDPI and ACS Style
Scheible, N.; McCubbin, A. Signaling in Pollen Tube Growth: Beyond the Tip of the Polarity Iceberg. Plants 2019, 8, 156. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8060156
AMA Style
Scheible N, McCubbin A. Signaling in Pollen Tube Growth: Beyond the Tip of the Polarity Iceberg. Plants. 2019; 8(6):156. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8060156
Chicago/Turabian StyleScheible, Nolan; McCubbin, Andrew. 2019. "Signaling in Pollen Tube Growth: Beyond the Tip of the Polarity Iceberg" Plants 8, no. 6: 156. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8060156
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