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Reproductive biology

Pillow talk in plants

Nature volume 429, pages 249–250 (2004)Cite this article

Flowering plants have sophisticated mating systems that determine whether a pollen suitor is accepted or rejected. Knowledge of how such systems operate has just taken two steps forward.

Few Nature readers may admit to such a lack of subtlety, but most will have closely scrutinized potential mates. Mate selection has a huge effect on a species. In general, it's good to avoid inbreeding and it's bad to mate with other species. Humans possess sophisticated sensory faculties that help make these selections. Flowering plants have the same mating imperatives, but they lack our sensory faculties, are largely immobile, and rely on the vagaries of factors such as wind or insects to assist mating. Their remarkable success is due, in part, to the evolution of sophisticated mating control systems that require communication between pollen (the male player in events) and pistil (the female organs, consisting of a stigma on which the pollen lands, the egg-containing ovary, and a style to provide passage from one to the other).

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Figure 1: Choosy mates.

NONI FRANKLIN-TONG

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  1. Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, 65211, Missouri, USA

    Bruce McClure

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  1. Bruce McClure
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McClure, B. Pillow talk in plants. Nature 429, 249–250 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/429249a

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