Spore formation in plants: SPOROCYTELESS and more

Abstract

Plant reproduction is initiated by the specification of sporocytes that form haploid spores through meiosis. A new study in Arabidopsis published in Cell Research shows how the product of SPOROCYTELESS/NOZZLE, a key gene in this process, partners with co-repressors and transcription factors to promote spore formation, and draws interesting parallels with fungi.