Alternation of Generations - Unravelling the underlying molecular mechanism of a 165-year old botanical observation

Plant Biol         online article

All plants alternate between an asexual stage and a sexual stage that produces the reproductive cells, the egg and the sperm. Fertilization initiates a signalling network causing the developmental switch between the life stages. This life cycle, called Generationswechsel, was elucidated by the 19th century botanists Hofmeister and Strasburger. The identification of the homeobox gene BELL1 as a master regulator of embryogenesis provides the molecular mechanism of this 165 years old observation.