Mechanism of directional control of pollen tube growth by its perception of LURE attractants

Abstract

Pollen tubes of flowering plants, which germinate from pollen grains on the stigma surface of the pistil, precisely arrive ovules to achieve fertilization.　Ovular attractant peptides, LUREs, were first reported in 2009 after long search for more than 140 years.　Since then, studies on pollen tube guidance have been accelerated.　Many key molecules for pollen tube guidance have been identified, including tip-localizing LURE1-receptor PRK6 in Arabidopsis and ovule-derived bioactive sugar chain AMOR for capacitation of pollen tubes in Torenia.　In this article, current understanding is reviewed how pollen tubes control growth direction by perception of LURE attractant peptides.