ContentsSummary687I.Introduction687II.Pollen tube membrane‐localized receptors coordinate cell integrity and sperm release689III.RALF peptides mediate autocrine and paracrine signaling689IV.ROS and ion channel signaling mediate intracellular response690V.Involvements from pollen tube cell wall components690VI.Concluding remarks691Acknowledgements692Author contributions692References692 Summary: Unlike in animals, sperm in flowering plants are immotile and they are embraced as passive cargoes by a pollen tube which embarks on a long journey in the pistil to deliver them to the female gametophyte for fertilization. How the pollen tube switches from a rapid polarized growth towards its target to an abrupt disintegration for sperm cell release inside the female gametophyte is puzzling. Recent studies have shown that members of the Catharanthus roseus RLK1‐like (CrRLK1L) receptor kinase family and their ligands, 5‐kDa cysteine‐rich peptide rapid alkalinization factors (RALFs), engage in an intricate balancing act involving autocrine and paracrine signaling to maintain pollen tube growth and induce timely tube rupture at the spatially confined pollen tube–female gametophyte interface. Here, we review recent progress related to pollen tube integrity control, mainly focusing on the molecular understanding of signaling as well as intracellular signaling nodes in Arabidopsis. Some missing links and future perspectives are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]