In higher plants, fertilization induces many structural and physiological changes in the fertilized egg that reflect the transition from the haploid female gamete to the diploid zygote – the first cell of the sporophyte. After fusion of the egg nucleus with the sperm nucleus, many molecular changes occur in the zygote during the process of zygote activation during embryogenesis. The zygote originates from the egg, from which some pre-stored translation initiation factors transfer into the zygote and function during zygote activation. This indicates that the control of zygote activation is pre-set in the egg. After the egg and sperm nuclei fuse, gene expression is activated in the zygote, and paternal and maternal gene expression patterns are displayed. This highlights the diversity of zygotic genome activation in higher plants. In addition to new gene expression in the zygote, some genes show quantitative changes in expression. The asymmetrical division of the zygote produces an apical cell and a basal cell that have different destinies during plant reconstruction; these destinies are determined in the zygote. This review describes significant advances in research on the mechanisms controlling zygote activation in higher plants.

Serious difficulties are encountered when SIMS analysis is applied to plant cells because of the cells' basic organization. In most plant cells, the cytoplasm is present as a thin layer that surrounds a large central vacuole, and is surrounded externally by a porous semi-rigid cell wall. Due to the high internal hydrostatic pressure typical of plant cells, large-scale solute redistribution may occur when tissues are excised. Relatively small solute decompartmentation is sufficient to collapse the native solute gradients between the cytoplasm and the adjacent compartments, due to the small volume of the former. For these reasons, most of the SIMS analyses in plant cells have been performed on elements bound to non-diffusible structures such as proteins, cell wall polymers, or in dry seeds. Sample preparation remains a limiting factor when imaging the distribution of soluble compounds. Cryotechniques have generated considerable interest to circumvent these problems. Cryofixation followed by cryosectioning would a priori be the best procedure, but encouraging results indicate that cryofixation followed by cryosubstitution is an interesting alternative.