Ethological dynamics in diorama environments

For successful fertilization in flowering plants, the tip-growing male gametophytic cell (pollen tube) travels inside the female tissue (pistil) and reaches the vicinity of the egg cell. The pistil is regarded as an endogenous "diorama environment" prepared for efficient and conspecific fertilization, while the pollen tube possesses "proto-intelligence" to respond to external signals and modulate the speed and direction of its tip growth. We have previously revealed that a group of cell surface receptors (PRK family receptors) is required for the pollen tube’s proto-intelligence, namely the reorientation of the pollen tube tip growth. However, it remains unclear an algorithm controlling the pollen tube behavior in the pistil. In this project, we will investigate how the PRK family receptors systematically control the tip growth and what physical and molecular properties provide the path for the pollen tube in the pistil’s diorama environment. We will also try to construct an artificial pistil diorama environment to analyze the ability of the pollen tube as a constructive approach. Through collaboration with researchers in this area, we will show the universality and uniqueness of the single-celled behavioral dynamics of the pollen tube, which has been innovated for angiosperm reproduction.