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Plant science

Sexual attraction channelled in moss

Nature volume 549, pages 35–36 (2017)Cite this article

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An analysis reveals that both sexual reproduction and early-embryo development in the moss Physcomitrella patens are controlled by cellular calcium influxes through ion-channel proteins. See Letter p.91

The attraction of free-swimming sperm to a stationary egg is a widespread phenomenon, occurring in organisms from plants to mammals. The mechanisms underlying this process, which is called chemotaxis, involve gradients of chemical signals that are perceived by sperm and used to direct their locomotion. But many aspects of sperm chemotaxis, including the identity of some of the major components involved, have remained unclear — especially in mosses and ferns. On page 91, Ortiz-Ramírez et al.1 identify two membrane-spanning, glutamate-receptor-like proteins (GLRs) that are indispensable for sperm orientation in the moss Physcomitrella patens. In addition, the authors provide evidence that these channel proteins target the transcription factor BELL1 to control early embryonic development more generally.

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Figure 1: Calcium signalling regulates reproduction in moss.

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  1. Department of Biology, Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology, University of Münster, Münster, 48149, Germany

    Leonie Steinhorst & Jörg Kudla

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  1. Leonie Steinhorst
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  2. Jörg Kudla
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Correspondence to Leonie Steinhorst or Jörg Kudla.

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Steinhorst, L., Kudla, J. Sexual attraction channelled in moss. Nature 549, 35–36 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature23543

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