The molecular genetics of gametophytic apomixis

Apomixis gives rise to a novel prospect in agricultural production: the opp ortunity to establish genetically stable, seed-propagating clones of crops, which can perpetuate themselves across countless sporophytic generations. This asexual mode of reproduction, that naturally occurs in some angiosperm s, may prove to be an unrivalled biotechnological tool to improve crop yiel ds. Nevertheless, an exhaustive molecular characterisation of the phenomeno n is still needed. This article presents the current stale of knowledge on the molecular genetic basis of gametophytic apomixis, and discusses the per spectives profiled by an extensive use of the character in agriculture.