new research is unraveling the unknown receptors and mechanism for fertilization in plants. pollen tubes are attracted by lure peptides, which are produced from ovules, to bring about fertilization. a pair of plant biologists has now revealed for the first time, the receptor in pollen tubes that is required to detect lure. by uncovering this unknown mechanism in plant fertilization, this may lead to an improvement in the efficiency of pollen tube growth, which may thus result in an increased success rate of fertilization.