![[The University of Leicester]](unilogo.gif)
Twell Lab
Genetics, Cell and Molecular Biology of Pollen Development
Sexual reproduction in flowering plants involves the production of the male (sperm) and female (eggs) gametes and their successful union at fertilisation. Given the importance of plant fertility for seed development and crop productivity, it is of paramount importance to obtain a deeper understanding of mechanisms governing gamete development and function.
The development of the gametes occurs through relatively simple pathways involving only a few cell divisions to produce the mature male (pollen) and female (embryo sac) gametophytes. Although gametophyte development has been researched for well over a century, relatively little is known about the genes and the precise mechanisms which regulate key developmental processes such as the control of cell division, cell differentiation and the complex cell-cell interactions which occur during the progamic phase.
Twell Lab research
Our research interests are in the molecular mechanisms that have evolved to produce such specialised reproductive cells and how this specialisation leads to successful reproduction. Current research is focussed on genetic and molecular approaches in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana to identify mutants which are defective in key stages of male gametophyte development and their corresponding genes.
Mutants affecting microspore polarity, cytokinesis and intracellular architecture during pollen maturation are being characterised as well as mutants which specifically affect post-pollination events leading to fertilisation. Positional cloning and gene-tagging approaches are being pursued to isolate such developmental phase and progamic phase genes. In parallel the action and function of regulatory proteins which control transcription and protein synthesis during male gametophyte development are being studied.
In this way we hope to achieve a more detailed understanding of the mechanisms which have evolved in plants to specify gamete development and function. This information may then be of value for the monitoring and manipulation of plant fertility for crop production and environmental protection.
PhD position available
BBSRC PhD studentship in Molecular Reproductive Development:
Gene regulatory networks controlling cell cycle progression and gamete specification in plants
