Arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) related to pollen tube guidance into the embryo sac in Arabidopsis

Plant Signal Behav. 2008 Jul;3(7):455-6. doi: 10.4161/psb.3.7.5601.

Abstract

Some AGP molecules or their sugar moieties are probably related to the guidance of the pollen tube into the embryo sac, in the final part of its pathway, when arriving at the ovules. The specific labelling of the synergid cells and its filiform apparatus, which are the cells responsible for pollen tube attraction, and also the specific labelling of the micropyle and micropylar nucellus, which constitutes the pollen tube entryway into the embryo sac, are quite indicative of this role. We also discuss the possibility that AGPs in the sperm cells are probably involved in the double fertilization process.

Keywords: AGP 6; Arabidopsis; arabinogalactan proteins; gametic cells; pollen tube guidance.