The articles in this volume provide a stimulating overview of several aspects of current research in plant reproductive biology. Some convincingly illustrate how age-old problems of plant reproductive systems are proving to be accessible to the awesomely powerful methods of molecular biology, while others show how this approach can complement – and be complemented by – other new techniques for investigating intracellular processes and cellular interactions at levels beyond that of the gene. In the light of these many current developments, it is surely not overly optimistic to suggest that we are entering a new era in the exploration of plant reproductive phenomena.

So, in what directions might research be expected to progress now? While defining priorities is always fraught, it is at least permissible to attempt to identify a few parts of this very wide subject where there is a real promise that some of the outstanding problems could yield to the application of the new methodologies. In this connection it is important for the plant scientist to keep an eye on what is happening in animal and microbial cell biology; after all it is from these much more fully populated and much better resourced fields that we borrow most of our technology. We need also to bear in mind that sexual reproduction in plants involves essentially all the basic processes of development: cell nutrition, division, growth and communication, tissue differentiation and organ morphogenesis.