Biotechnological methods are opening new ways in plant breeding. They allow novel strategies for improving crop productivity and quality, especially in the agrofood sector. The molecular mechanisms underlying these biotechnological approaches are presented here. Topics included are: pollen development, pollen tube growth, macrosporogenesis and fertilization and the effects of pesticides on sexual plant reproduction.
Fertilization in higher plants is a complex process consisting of two events, the fusion of the egg with one sperm cell resulting in the diploid zygote, and the fusion of...