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Advances in the study of egg activation of higher plants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2018

Li Peng ,
Zhen Kai Li ,
Xiao Li Ding  and
Hui Qiao Tian Open the ORCID record for Hui Qiao Tian [Opens in a new window]
Li Peng
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Protection and Utilization of Special Biological Resources in Western China, Yinchuan 750021, China
Zhen Kai Li
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Protection and Utilization of Special Biological Resources in Western China, Yinchuan 750021, China
Xiao Li Ding
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Protection and Utilization of Special Biological Resources in Western China, Yinchuan 750021, China
Hui Qiao Tian*
Affiliation:
School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
*
Address for correspondence: Hui Qiao Tian, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China. Tel: +11 86 592 2186486. E-mail: hqtian@xmu.edu.cn
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Summary

Fertilization in higher plants induces many structural and physiological changes in the fertilized egg, and represents the transition from the haploid female gamete to the diploid zygote, the first cell of a sporophyte. Some changes are induced extremely rapidly following fusion with sperm cells and are the preclusions of egg activation. This review focuses on the early changes that occur in the egg after fusion with sperm cells, but before nuclear fusion. Reported changes include cell shrinkage, cell wall formation, polarity change, oscillation in Ca2+ concentration, and DNA synthesis. In addition, the current understanding of egg activation is summarized and the possible functional relevance of the changes is explored.

Keywords

Egg activationEgg cellFertilizationHigher plantSperm
Type
Review Article
Information
Zygote , Volume 26 , Issue 6 , December 2018 , pp. 435 - 442
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2018 

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