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Open research questions in Plant Reproductive Biology

25 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 257 Plant Reproductive Biology papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • The SDMYB haplotypes form an ancient trans-species polymorphism, maintained by negative frequency-dependent balancing selection over 42 My, and they segregate in at least 26 nonavocado species, including in a genus where this mating system has not been reported.

    Balanced polymorphism in a floral transcription factor underlies the ancient rhythm of daily sex alternation in avocado · 2026 · DOI

  • Post-mating, pre-zygotic (PMPZ) reproductive barriers are often attributed to precise molecular recognition between male and female gametes, yet little is known about how these interactions change as species diverge.

    From recognition to neglect: Molecular and physiological responses to heterospecific pollen decay with evolutionary distance · 2026 · DOI

  • The interaction between induced mutations (via gamma irradiation) and anther culture efficiency in rice improvement has been explored, but quantitative data on mutation rates, recovery of desired mutant phenotypes, and stability of mutagenized doubled haploid lines across generations requires systematic characterization.

    Anther culture in rice: from an experimental model to breeding practice · 2026 · DOI

  • Isolated microspore culture protocols for japonica rice have been optimized for specific laboratory conditions, but field-scale validation of doubled haploid lines generated through anther culture for agronomic performance, yield stability, and trait expression across multiple growing environments is not comprehensively documented.

    Anther culture in rice: from an experimental model to breeding practice · 2026 · DOI

  • The mechanisms by which osmotic stress and carbohydrate metabolism regulate shoot organogenesis in rice callus remain incompletely characterized; further investigation into auxin signaling pathways during anther culture regeneration is needed to optimize plantlet recovery rates across diverse rice germplasm.

    Anther culture in rice: from an experimental model to breeding practice · 2026 · DOI

  • Temperate japonica rice anther culture for doubled haploid technology integration has been identified as requiring improvement, but comparative efficacy data between temperate and subtropical japonica genotypes in anther culture-based breeding remains absent from the literature cited.

    Anther culture in rice: from an experimental model to breeding practice · 2026 · DOI

  • Anther culture protocols for indica rice remain inconsistent across genotypes; the paper references an 'impasse' in indica rice anther culture that has not been systematically resolved, requiring standardized microspore isolation and callus induction protocols specific to indica subspecies across multiple elite breeding lines.

    Anther culture in rice: from an experimental model to breeding practice · 2026 · DOI

  • The results indicated that the three genes may be involved in anther development, thereby providing a theoretical basis for further study of floral organ development and pollen development in AfSKP1 family members.

    Transcriptome and genome-wide analysis of the potential role of SKP1 gene family in the development of floral organs of two related species of Allium fistulosum · 2024 · DOI

  • Additionally, dorsoventral asymmetric expression of a CYC3 paralog indicates that this understudied gene clade is likely also involved in floral symmetry.

    Elaboration of bilateral symmetry across Knautia macedonica capitula related to changes in ventral petal expression of CYCLOIDEA-like genes · 2016 · DOI

  • Despite the ubiquity of mixed mating - the use of both self- and cross-fertilization within the same population - its evolutionary origins and dynamic stability remain elusive.

    Volatile but persistent co-existence of self-compatibility and self-incompatibility in plants · 2026 · DOI

  • Whether and how polyploidy modulates the action of natural selection remains debated, and the particular case of balancing selection has been poorly explored.

    Autopolyploidy exacerbates dominance masking under negative frequency-dependent selection: evidence from sporophytic self-incompatibility in <i>Arabidopsis arenosa</i> and <i>Arabidopsis lyrata</i> · 2026 · DOI

  • For self-pollinating plants of wheat, barley, oats, the use of the effect of heterosis is limited to a low percentage of tying of grains, a weak seed multiplication factor.

    Closure of heterosis in Arabidopsis Thaliana (L.) Heynh. and other self-military plants · 2018 · DOI

  • Despite apomixis is considered as one of the key technologies for the improving agriculture, it is currently not fully known how the genetic and molecular regulation of this important trait occurs.

    Molecular and genetic regulation of apomixis · 2017 · DOI

  • BACKGROUND: Bocconia and Macleaya are the only genera of the poppy family (Papaveraceae) lacking petals; however, the developmental and genetic processes underlying such evolutionary shift have not yet been studied.

    The developmental and genetic bases of apetaly in Bocconia frutescens (Chelidonieae: Papaveraceae) · 2016 · DOI

  • To date, the molecular mechanisms underlying the osmoregulation of pollen grains (PGs) related to the maintenance of their water status and allowing pollen tubes (PTs) to regulate concentrations in them of osmolytes and transmembrane water transport remain to be not so far characterized.

    Exogenous IAA and ABA stimulate germination of petunia male gametophyte by activating Ca2+-dependent K+-channels and by modulating the activity of plasmalemma H+-ATPase and actin cytoskeleton · 2016 · DOI

  • This review is dedicated to show the limited information on the genetics of self-incompatibility in sour cherry accumulated during the last five years.

    Self-(in)compatibility in sour cherry (Prunus cerasus L.). A minireview · 2006 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Plant Reproductive Biology

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25 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 257 Plant Reproductive Biology papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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