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Science 338 (6110): 1038-1039

Copyright © 2012 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Plant Gametes Do Fertilization with a Twist

William J. Snell

Cell Biology Department, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.


Figure 1
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  		Fertilization across phyla. As in algae and animals, Arabidopsis gametes undergo mutual activation. Upon sperm arrival, the egg cell secretes EC1 proteins that trigger sperm to display previously cryptic HAP2. Adhesion between Chlamydomonas gametes also triggers exposure of cryptic HAP2, and in mammals, sperm binding to egg triggers exposure of Izumo-1. Only in the two plant systems are both gametes activated before fusion.

 

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