Apomixis is considered to be a natural mode of clonal propogation from seed to seed, in which progeny serves as a replica of maternal genotype. The process evades creation of variation by circumventing sexual fusion and recombination, offering great advantage to fix heterosis or hybrid vigour in plants. As this would permit the conservation of complex favourable genotypes that are of agricultural value, it has immense potential in crop seed production. In order to accomplish this, a comprehensive knowledge on the genetic basis and the molecular mechanisms regulating different components of apomixis stands as a key prerequisite. So far, despite of the persistent interest and extensive research on apomixis, the underlying gene regulatory networks and their evolutionary origins are not well deciphered and still remain unclear. From the developmental perspective, apomixis is widely accepted to be controlled or deviated form of sexual reproduction and studies based on comparative analysis of genes or mutants regulating sexual and apomictic pathways revealed their resemblance across various plant species. Since apomixis is a complex, yet well regulated phenomenon that constantly requires action of specific genes during all developmental stages, the present review summarises recent advances in apomixis and compiles information on vital genes and mutants involved in regulating apomixis during various stages of development.

Graphical abstract

Graphical abstract: Brief illustration on mechanisms of apomictic and sexual life cycle in angiosperms. Apomixis avoids the process of meiosis and recombination offering advantage over sexuals by conservation of heterosis or vigor for several generations, easy maintenance of superior genotypes and rapid production of homozygous lines. In sexuals owing to nuclear division and fertilization, fixation of heterosis cannot be achieved and maintenance/development of homozygous lines becomes intricate.*Based on the fertilization the ploidy of endosperm may vary.

中文翻译：

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无融合生殖：从遗传机制到分子视角的前瞻

无融合生殖被认为是从种子到种子的克隆繁殖的自然模式，其中后代充当母本基因型的复制品。该过程通过绕过有性融合和重组避免了变异的产生，为固定植物的杂种优势或杂种优势提供了极大的优势。由于这将允许保存具有农业价值的复杂有利基因型，因此它在作物种子生产中具有巨大潜力。为了实现这一点，对遗传基础和调节无融合生殖不同成分的分子机制的全面了解是关键的先决条件。到目前为止，尽管对无融合生殖的兴趣和广泛的研究持续存在，但潜在的基因调控网络及其进化起源尚未得到很好的解释，仍然不清楚。从发育的角度来看，无融合生殖被广泛接受为有性生殖的受控或偏离形式，基于对调节有性和无融合生殖途径的基因或突变体的比较分析的研究揭示了它们在各种植物物种中的相似性。由于无融合生殖是一种复杂但调节良好的现象，在所有发育阶段都需要特定基因的作用，本综述总结了无融合生殖的最新进展，并汇编了有关在不同发育阶段调节无融合生殖的重要基因和突变体的信息。

图形概要

图形摘要：关于被子植物无融合生殖和性生命周期机制的简要说明。无融合生殖避免了减数分裂和重组过程，通过保留多代杂种优势或活力、易于维持优良基因型和快速产生纯合系，从而提供优于有性生殖的优势。在有性生殖中，由于核分裂和受精，无法实现杂种优势的固定，纯合系的维持/发育变得复杂。*基于受精，胚乳的倍性可能会有所不同。