Maternal signals regulate embryo development in plants
(PHYSorg.com Biology)

While pregnancy in humans and seed development in plants look very different, parallels exist-not least that the embryo develops in close connection with the mother. In animals, a whole network of signals from the mother is known to influence embryo development. In plants, it has been clear for a while that maternal signals regulate embryo development. However, the signal itself was unknown-until now. Plant scientists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) and the University of Freiburg have now found that a plant hormone called auxin from the mother is one of the signals that pattern the plant embryo. Their study is published today in Nature Plants.