The cell polarity landscape in Arabidopsis male and female gametophytes

Arabidopsis male and female gametophyte development shows a rich landscape of polar domains, marked by one or more polar proteins, across successive polarization steps.

• Why it matters: Plant cell polarity is needed for directional transport and asymmetric divisions, yet flowering plant gametophytes lack reported polar protein localization, limiting mechanistic understanding.
• What they did: The study mapped polar protein domains in Arabidopsis gametophytes and used ectopic expression to test whether localization can occur via a single polarity system.
• The result: Male gametophyte polarization steps can be mechanistically uncoupled, with the first step preceding asymmetric cell division, and ectopic expression indicates near-universal polar protein localization capacity.

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