The Frontier of Plant Female Reproductive Biology

Commercial seed businesses, like DuPont Pioneer, depend on controlled reproduction of the crop plants they develop. Control of reproduction is critical in every stage of product development from initial stages of breeding through commercial seed production. Beginning with the first commercial crosses for hybrid maize, numerous innovative manipulations of plant reproductive biology have lead to increasing agricultural productivity in numerous crops. Some, such as haploid induction technology have increased the rate of breeding. Others, such as cytoplasmic male sterility and the harnessing of nuclear male sterility, have lead to more efficient production of hybrids and are enabling the next generation of hybrid crops. All these technologies focus on male reproductive biology. We will discuss the next frontier, female reproductive biology, tools to facilitate its research, modifications of its mechanisms, and how it can be harnessed to benefit crop production.