Flowers brighten our gardens, fill our vases, and inspire countless poets. But have you ever wondered about the drama unfolding within their petals? It turns out, plants have a fascinating (and surprisingly complex) way of choosing their fertilization partners.
Scientists at Nagoya University in Japan have just pulled back the curtain on this hidden world, and what they've found could change the way we think about agriculture.
Flower fertilization
Flowering plants, known as angiosperms, have male and female parts. Reproduction kicks off when a pollen grain (carrying male genetic material) lands on the stigma of a flower (the female part).
This triggers the growth of a pollen tube, a microscopic tunnel that delivers sperm cells to the ovule for fertilization. It's like a tiny, botanical version of a sperm whale diving to the depths of the ocean. But how does a flower choose which pollen grain gets to fertilize it? To answer this, the Nagoya University team developed a technique using a two-photon microscope, allowing them to peer deep inside a living flower for the first time.
Read more at earth.com