Blog Post Image: Pistil leads pollen in life-and-death dance

Ready. Aim, … aim, … aim, … aim, …Pollen without a gene that codes for a protein called thionin cannot “hear” the pistil’s command to explode when their pollen tubes reach the ovule. They just keep growing, coiling inside the ovule (above), and fertilization does not occur. Image credit: Johnson lab/Brown University