Androgenesis Revisited

Androgenesis can be defined as the set of biological processes leading to an individual genetically coming exclusively from a male nucleus. Androgenesis was traditionally considered as the spontaneous, in vivo development of a male-derived haploid embryo from a fertilized egg where the female nucleus is eliminated. However, at present it is also possible to generate androgenic haploids/doubled haploids through in vitro microspore embryogenesis and by in vitro meiocyte-derived callogenesis. These three androgenic alternatives clearly differ in the inducible stage, but lead to the same final haploid or doubled haploid product. Whereas microspore embryogenesis is widely studied and applied, the other two routes are much less known. In this paper, the evidence accounting for the existence of these three alternative pathways is revised, as well as the mechanisms potentially involved in their induction. Their differences and similarities are discussed from a biological perspective, leading to the notion that they might represent an ancient survival mechanism triggered by similar factors.