New insights into plant gametogenesis: From mechanism to application

Land plants produce both male and female gametes (sperm cells and egg cells [EC]) at the haploid gametophytic generation, which are the prerequisites for sexual plant reproduction. As highly specialized cell types, their development is necessarily regulated by the unique mechanisms. Herein, we attempt to summarize recent progress on the genetic and epigenetic regulations of the generation, differentiation, and maturation of sperm and EC, as well as their variations during the evolution of land plants. We emphasize the contributions of sperm-derived paternal genetic information to the zygotic and embryonic development after fertilization. We also discuss the application aspects of the basic principles of gametogenesis in agriculture, especially in haploid induction and synthetic apomixis. Finally, we prospect the future interesting researches and highlight the core questions in this field.