Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39981717›Full record

ReviewThe Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology2025

To infinity and beyond: recent progress, bottlenecks, and potential of clonal seeds by apomixis.

Bas Heidemann, Elias Primetis, Iris E Zahn, Charles J Underwood

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Bas Heidemann *Department of Plant & Animal Biology, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Elias Primetis *Department of Plant & Animal Biology, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Iris E Zahn *Department of Plant & Animal Biology, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Charles J UnderwoodDepartment of Plant & Animal Biology, Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Funding

European Research Council 101076355
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Apomixis - clonal seed production in plants - is a rare yet phylogenetically widespread trait that has recurrently evolved in plants to fix hybrid genotypes over generations. Apomixis is absent from major crop species and has been seen as a holy grail of plant breeding due to its potential to propagate hybrid vigor in perpetuity. Here we exhaustively review recent progress, bottlenecks, and potential in the individual components of gametophytic apomixis (avoidance of meiosis, skipping fertilization by parthenogenesis, autonomous endosperm development), and sporophytic apomixis. The Mitosis instead of Meiosis system has now been successfully set up in three species (Arabidopsis, rice, and tomato), yet significant hurdles remain for universal bioengineering of clonal gametes. Parthenogenesis has been engineered in even more species, yet incomplete penetrance still remains an issue; we discuss the choice of parthenogenesis genes (BABY BOOM, PARTHENOGENESIS, WUSCHEL) and also how to drive egg cell-specific expression. The identification of pathways to engineer autonomous endosperm development would allow fully autonomous seed production, yet here significant challenges remain. The recent achievements in the engineering of synthetic apomixis in rice at high penetrance show great potential and the remaining obstacles toward implementation in this crop are addressed. Overall, the recent practical examples of synthetic apomixis suggest the field is flourishing and implementation in agricultural systems could soon take place.

Indexed as

ApomixisSeedsEndospermParthenogenesisPlant Breedingapomixisclonal seedsendospermhybrid vigormeiosisparthenogenesisplant breeding

Identifiers

PMID39981717
PMCPMC11843595

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.