Connecting you with the University of Missouri’s innovative research and creative activityBetween the Pistil and the Pollen
A visit with Bruce McClure, Professor, Biochemistry
How Plants Identify Appropriate Mates
Topics:
plants
plant_mating
Because plants can’t move around to find suitable mates, they depend on other forces, such as birds, bees, and wind, to bring them pollen. They can make themselves attractive to one kind of animal versus another, but they don’t have control over whose pollen is transferred to them. McClure is trying to understand how plants are able to screen all the pollen that comes to them and then identify the best choice.