GoingToMeet

In recent years there has been a significant acceleration in our understanding of the molecular processes behind a host of plant reproductive processes, particularly in the role of cell-cell signalling in both pre and post fertilisation events. The meeting will serve to bring together labs at the cutting edge in this field and will focus on cell-cell communication from arrival of a pollen grain at the stigma surface where a molecular dialogue is first established, through guidance signals that ensure the pollen tube successfully delivers sperm to the female gametes deep in maternal tissues, to understanding the complex nature of the relationship between the developing embryo and the nutritive endosperm following double fertilisation. The programme will also include contributions on molecular characterization of plant gametes, an area which has recently seen significant progress, the role of genomic imprinting in plant gametes and how this affects the balance of maternal and paternal contribution to the developing embryo, blocks to polyspermy and the diverse roles of small protein ‘ligands’ in reproductive biology.