Conserved Molecular Components for Pollen Tube Reception and Fungal Invasion

Abstract

Fungal Invasion or Pollination? When pollen finds a compatible flower, it grows a pollen tube which must find the egg cell and release the sperm it carries. In searching for genes that affect pollen tubes in Arabidopsis , Kessler et al. (p. 968 ; see the Perspective by Govers and Angenent ) found a gene previously implicated in susceptibility to powdery mildew infection (the NTA gene). The NTA gene encodes a seven-pass transmembrane protein, which, in combination with a receptor-like kinase called Fer, is needed for successful pollen tube growth; both sets of proteins are also needed for successful powdery mildew invasion. These processes hence share common mechanisms of cell invasion, but where they diverge is in the outcome: embryogenesis or pathogenesis.