{
  "id": 7329419,
  "title": "Stigmatic papilla cells recover nonself pollen acceptance after self-pollen recognition",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/stigmatic-papilla-cells-recover-nonself-pollen-acceptance-after-self",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-14T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.10.750793v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Brassicaceae plants exhibit self-incompatibility, triggered when pollen carries a ligand called SP11/SCR that activates a specific receptor kinase in the stigma. While this interaction is typically observed at a single pollen-papilla interface, each papilla cell must handle mixed pollen loads. Using a reconstituted Arabidopsis thaliana system, researchers discovered that the recognition of self-pollen actually slows down the hydration and germination of nearby nonself pollen. This delay is more pronounced when two self-pollen grains are present, but it diminishes when nonself pollen is introduced 2 hours after the self pollen. Repollinating after removing a self-pollen grain still showed a persistent inhibition at the initial contact site.\n\nLive imaging using Lifeact-tdTomato revealed that self-pollination temporarily altered the orientation of F-actin within the papilla cell, subsequently returning to the normal longitudinal organization of unpollinated cells. When both self and non-self pollen were applied simultaneously, actin-bundle orientation eventually aligned with the papilla long axis before the delayed hydration of the non-self pollen. These findings suggest that the self-recognition signaling creates a reversible, wide-ranging state that briefly limits the acceptance of compatible pollen, while local self-rejection remains at the original contact site.",
  "summary": "In Brassicaceae, self-incompatibility is initiated when the pollen ligand SP11/SCR activates the cognate stigma receptor kinase SRK. Although this interaction is usually considered at a single pollen-papilla interface, individual papilla cells encounter mixed pollen loads. Here, using a self-incompatibility-reconstituted Arabidopsis thaliana system, we show that self-pollen recognition…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}