ABC model of flower development well as in the determination of the floral meristem. Therefore, the "AG" mutants are devoid of androecium and gynoecium and they have petals and sepals in their place. In addition, the growth in the centre of the flower is undifferentiated, therefore the petals and sepals grow in repetitive verticils. The "PLENA" ("PLE") gene is present in "A. majus", in place of the "AG" gene, although it is not an ortholog. However, the "FARINELLI" ("FAR") gene is an ortholog, which is specific to the development of the anthers and the maturation of pollen. In "Petunia", "Antirrhinum" and in maize the C
Pollen form two sperm cells. The sperm cells are carried to their destination in the tip of the pollen tube. Double-strand breaks in DNA that arise during pollen tube growth appear to be efficiently repaired in the generative cell that carries the male genomic information to be passed on to the next plant generation. However, the vegetative cell that is responsible for tube elongation appears to lack this DNA repair capability. Pollen's sporopollenin outer sheath affords it some resistance to the rigours of the fossilisation process that destroy weaker objects; it is also produced in huge quantities. There is an extensive