Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 54, No. 380, pp. 1,
January 1, 2003
© 2003 Oxford University Press
Preface
When it comes to sex, angiosperms have evolved many ways of doing it and indeed of doing without it. Plant reproductive biology thus presents an array of strategies for producing the next generation and provides a very fertile field for research. The place of plants in the earth’s ecosystems and food webs, including human nutrition, makes this a particularly significant and always timely topic. It is also a topic that is especially suitable for an interdisciplinary approach ranging from ecology through to molecular biology. In addition, recent developments in cell biology have opened new lines of research and provided new insights into almost all phases of the reproductive processes. It was thus entirely appropriate that the Cell Biology and Plant Biology sections of the Society for Experimental Biology should combine to put on a Journal of Experimental Botany-sponsored symposium at the Society's annual main meeting in Swansea. And we were not disappointed. We were especially lucky to be able to bring together so many international researchers from all around the world. Over a period of two and half days we heard some excellent talks, describing exciting science and bringing us right up-to-date with many facets of reproductive biology. Indeed, some of the talks, those illustrated with video or slides showing in vivo imaging with GFP and 3-dimensional molecular cytology, were truly spectacular.
Many of the talks are now represented by the papers in this Special Issue of the Journal of Experimental Botany. This covers many of the events that gametes undergo prior to fertilization. Four major areas are covered here, which fall loosely into stages encountered during reproductive development and pollination. These include gametogenesis and meiosis, pollen–pistil interactions, pollen tube growth and regulation and, finally, a variety of self-incompatibility mechanisms to avoid self-fertilization. The authors represent the leaders in their field, and the papers present some of the cutting edge research in these areas. JXB Online has made it possible to publish video images, which supplement the hard copy. For us, the papers capture the timeliness, excellence and excitement of the meeting and we trust that they will convey the same to our readers.
Noni Franklin-Tong
John Bryant
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