Reproduction and development of flowering plants

Why mark the centenary of the independant discovery of double fertilization by Sergius Nawashin (1898) and Li on Guignard (1899), when biology has progressed so much since the beginning of the XXth century? This discovery still constitutes one of the key references in plant biology: double fertilization is unique to flowering plants among all living organisms. This meeting is also the occasion to associate angiosperm fertilization R with developmental biology because of the localization of this event in the flower. Very important and significant progress has been made in elucidating flower development during the last ten years. And today it is possible to understand the diversity of floral structure present in the angiosperms in the context of a underlying mechanism of flower development inherited from their common ancestor. This special issue also allows a sun ey of these two broad scientific fields, plant reproduction and plant development (flower and embryo). Ir might also attract new, talented young scientists. (C) 2001 Academie des Sciences/Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.