Plants For The Future: Auxin, Cytokinin, and Reproductive Biology

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key concepts from the BI3151 Plants For The Future lecture, including plant reproductive structures, hormone signaling abstracts, and environmental philosophies of agricultural science.

Graphical abstract

A one single panel cartoon/image which explains a topic such as a pathway, a genetic regulatory circuit, or molecular structure.

Norman Borlaug

A primary figure in the 1960s Green Revolution known for techno-optimism/cornucopianism, focusing on high-yielding crop varieties.

William Vogt

The founder of the Prophets and apocalyptic environmentalism, who argued that humankind must reduce consumption to avoid overwhelming planetary ecosystems.

Green Revolution

A combination of high-yielding crop varieties and agronomic techniques that raised grain harvests globally in the 1960s.

Male gametophyte

The pollen grains released from the anther that contain sperm cells.

Female gametophyte

The Embryo Sac which develops within an ovule and contains the egg cell.

Embryo Sac

In a single ovule, it typically consists of 8 Nuclei and 7 Cells, including 1 Egg cell, 2 Synergids, 3 Antipodal cells, and 1 Central Cell.

Synergids

Part of the egg-apparatus in the female gametophyte that produces attractants like LURE proteins for the pollen tube.

Forensic palynology

The use of pollen and spores to solve criminal or civil cases through morphology and DNA Markers.

Silique

The fruit type of Arabidopsis thaliana, containing approximately 30 seeds.

LURE proteins

Attractants produced by synergids and the egg cell to facilitate pollen tube guidance.

Double Fertilisation

The process where the pollen tube bursts to release sperm cells, fertilizing both the egg cell and the central cell.

Micropyle

The opening in the integuments of the ovule through which the pollen tube enters.

Anthesis

The period at which pollen is released, which can be in bi-cellular or tri-cellular forms.

Bi-cellular pollen

A type of pollen at anthesis consisting of a vegetative cell (VC) and a generative cell (GC).

Tri-cellular pollen

A type of pollen at anthesis consisting of a vegetative cell (VC) and two sperm cells (SC).

Endosperm

The triploid ($3n$) tissue formed from the fertilization of the central cell ($2n$) by a sperm cell ($n$).

PMC

Pollen Mother Cell, which is diploid ($2n$) and undergoes meiosis to form haploid ($n$) microspores.

Techno-optimism

The view that science and technology, properly applied, can help produce our way out of predicaments like food shortages.

Cornucopianism

Another term for techno-optimism attributed to Norman Borlaug's vision for agricultural production.