Cr RLK 1L receptor‐like kinases HERK 1 and ANJEA are female determinants of pollen tube reception

Abstract

Communication between the gametophytes is vital for angiosperm fertilisation. Multiple CrRLK1L‐type receptor kinases prevent premature pollen tube burst, while another CrRLK1L protein, FERONIA (FER), is required for pollen tube reception in the female gametophyte. We report here the identification of two additional CrRLK1L homologues, HERCULES RECEPTOR KINASE 1 (HERK1) and ANJEA (ANJ), which act redundantly to promote pollen tube growth arrest at the synergid cells. HERK1 and ANJ localise to the filiform apparatus of the synergid cells in unfertilised ovules, and in herk1 anj mutants, a majority of ovules remain unfertilised due to pollen tube overgrowth, together indicating that HERK1 and ANJ act as female determinants for fertilisation. As in fer mutants, the synergid cell‐specific, endomembrane protein NORTIA (NTA) is not relocalised after pollen tube reception; however, unlike fer mutants, reactive oxygen species levels are unaffected in herk1 anj double mutants. Both ANJ and HERK1 associate with FER and its proposed co‐receptor LORELEI (LRE) in planta. Together, our data indicate that HERK1 and ANJ act with FER to mediate female–male gametophyte interactions during plant fertilisation.