The Formation and Function of the Female Reproductive Tract in Flowering Plants  Brian C.W. Crawford, Martin F. Yanofsky  Current Biology  Volume 18, Issue 20, Pages R972-R978 (October 2008) DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.08.010 Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Ltd Terms and Conditions

Figure 1 Structure of the Arabidopsis carpel. A longitudinal diagram (A) and colorized transverse section (B) are shown with the reproductive tract structures labeled. Pollen lands on the stigma and a pollen tube grows within the transmitting tract of the style and septum. The pollen tube then emerges onto the septum epidermis before growing to the funiculus and reaching the ovule. Current Biology 2008 18, R972-R978DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2008.08.010) Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Ltd Terms and Conditions

Figure 2 Cell death within the reproductive tract. Cell death occurs in the Arabidopsis transmitting tract to facilitate pollen tube movement. (A) Before fertilization, there is production of blue-staining ECM by cells of the transmitting tract. (B) Post-fertilization, the staining persists but cells have degraded. (C) In the mature fruit, transmitting-tract cells are absent and all that remains is a two-cell-layered septum. Current Biology 2008 18, R972-R978DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2008.08.010) Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Ltd Terms and Conditions

Figure 3 Pollen tube interaction with the female gametophyte. (A) In a wild-type ovule, a single pollen tube is attracted along the funiculus by a micropylar attractant. When the synergid cells are ablated, or in myb98/ccg mutants, the micropylar attractant is lost, and pollen tubes cannot enter the micropyle. (B) After entering the micropyle, the pollen tube interacts with one of the synergid cells, causing it to burst and achieving fertilization. In the feronia mutant, micropyle attraction occurs but the pollen tube does not cause the synergid cell to burst and the pollen tube continues to grow within the ovule. Current Biology 2008 18, R972-R978DOI: (10.1016/j.cub.2008.08.010) Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Ltd Terms and Conditions