Plant reproduction articles from across Nature Portfolio

A seed consists of an embryo, endosperm, and seed coat. Here the authors show that autophagy plays a crucial role in regulating timely programmed cell death in the innermost seed coat, thereby influencing embryo pattern formation and seed viability.

An efficient method of cyto-swapping by haploid induction using a CENH3 mutation is reported in maize, to convert commercial germplasm to cytoplasmic male sterility for hybrid seed production.

This study reports that in European beech masting, the summer solstice serves as a celestial trigger that enables cohesive timekeeping across distant beech populations, allowing seed production to be synchronized at a subcontinental scale.

We reveal that the transcription factor SPATULA (SPT) directly interacts with, and is modified by, the O-glycosyl transferases SECRET AGENT (SEC) and SPINDLY (SPY) in Arabidopsis thaliana. O-linked β-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) and O-fucose post-translational modifications (PTMs) promoted elongation of the gynoecium apex (style) and its radial symmetry by promoting SPT function.

In angiosperms, the proliferation and differentiation of egg and central cells need to be repressed before fertilization. Autonomous endosperm development has been observed and well-studied in Arabidopsis mutants of FERTILIZATION INDEPENDENT SEED (FIS)-class POLYCOMB REPRESSIVE COMPLEX 2 (PRC2), but how defects of PRC2 components affect embryo development remains unclear. Wu et al. now describe an essential clue for understanding parthenogenetic embryogenesis from the rice double mutant osfie1 osfie2.

Maximization of reproductive success is critical for plant fitness. To this end, the flowering process must be finely tuned. We show that the rice florigen-like protein FT-L1 contributes to plant entrance into the reproductive phase and enables a balanced progression of inflorescence development.

Sustainable crop protection approaches are crucial to feeding an exponentially increasing global population. Seed wraps developed from banana harvest biomass and loaded with an ultra-low volume of a pesticide resulted in a substantial increase in the yield and quality of yam crops in field trials in Benin.