Dynamic changes in primexine during the tetrad stage of pollen development

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Wang ◽  
Heather A Owen ◽  
Anna A Dobritsa

Abstract Formation of pollen wall exine is preceded by the development of several transient layers of extracellular materials deposited on the surface of developing pollen grains. One such layer is primexine (PE), a thin, ephemeral structure that is present only for a short period of time and is difficult to visualize and study. Recent genetic studies suggested that PE is a key factor in the formation of exine, making it critical to understand its composition and the dynamics of its formation. In this study, we used high-pressure frozen/freeze-substituted samples of developing Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) pollen for a detailed transmission electron microscopy analysis of the PE ultrastructure throughout the tetrad stage of pollen development. We also analyzed anthers from wild-type Arabidopsis and three mutants defective in PE formation by immunofluorescence, carefully tracing several carbohydrate epitopes in PE and nearby anther tissues during the tetrad and the early free-microspore stages. Our analyses revealed likely sites where these carbohydrates are produced and showed that the distribution of these carbohydrates in PE changes significantly during the tetrad stage. We also identified tools for staging tetrads and demonstrate that components of PE undergo changes resembling phase separation. Our results indicate that PE behaves like a much more dynamic structure than has been previously appreciated and clearly show that Arabidopsis PE creates a scaffolding pattern for formation of reticulate exine.

Author(s):  
John R. Rowley

The morphology of the exine of many pollen grains, at the time of flowering, is such that one can suppose that transport of substances through the exine occurred during pollen development. Holes or channels, microscopic to submicroscopic, are described for a large number of grains. An inner part of the exine of Epilobium angustifolium L. and E. montanum L., which may be referred to as the endexine, has irregularly shaped channels early in pollen development although by microspore mitosis there is no indication of such channeling in chemically fixed material. The nucleus in microspores used in the experiment reported here was in prophase of microspore mitosis and the endexine, while lamellated in untreated grains, did not contain irregularly shaped channels. Untreated material from the same part of the inflorescence as iron treated stamens was examined following fixation with 0.1M glutaraldehyde in cacodylate-HCl buffer at pH 6.9 (315 milliosmoles) for 24 hrs, 4% formaldehyde in phosphate buffer at pH 7.2 (1,300 milliosmoles) for 12 hrs, 1% glutaraldehyde mixed with 0.1% osmium tetroxide for 20 min, osmium tetroxide in deionized water for 2 hrs and 1% glutaraldehyde mixed with 4% formaldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate-HCl buffer at pH 6.9 for two hrs.


2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (01n02) ◽  
pp. 23-28
Author(s):  
RAVI BHATIA ◽  
V. PRASAD ◽  
M. REGHU

High-quality multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were produced by a simple one-step technique. The production of MWNTs was based on thermal decomposition of the mixture of a liquid phase organic compound and ferrocene. High degree of alignment was noticed by scanning electron microscopy. The aspect ratio of as-synthesized MWNTs was quite high (more than 4500). Transmission electron microscopy analysis showed the presence of the catalytic iron nanorods at various lengths of MWNTs. Raman spectroscopy was used to know the quality of MWNTs. The ratio of intensity of the G-peak to the D-peak was very high which revealed high quality of MWNTs. Magnetotransport studies were carried out at low temperature and a negative MR was noticed.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1332
Author(s):  
Florian Riedlsperger ◽  
Bernadette Gsellmann ◽  
Erwin Povoden-Karadeniz ◽  
Oriana Tassa ◽  
Susanna Matera ◽  
...  

A thermokinetic computational framework for precipitate transformation simulations in Ta-containing martensitic Z-steels was developed, including Calphad thermodynamics, diffusion mobility data from the literature, and a kinetic parameter setup that considered precipitation sites, interfacial energies and dislocation density evolution. The thermodynamics of Ta-containing subsystems were assessed by atomic solubility data and enthalpies from the literature as well as from the experimental dissolution temperature of Ta-based Z-phase CrTaN obtained from differential scanning calorimetry. Accompanied by a comprehensive transmission electron microscopy analysis of the microstructure, thermokinetic precipitation simulations with a wide-ranging and well-documented set of input parameters were carried out in MatCalc for one sample alloy. A special focus was placed on modelling the transformation of MX into the Z-phase, which was driven by Cr diffusion. The simulation results showed excellent agreement with experimental data in regard to size, number density and chemical composition of the precipitates, showing the usability of the developed thermokinetic simulation framework.


1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (18) ◽  
pp. 1946-1950 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Agarwala ◽  
C. Chatterjee ◽  
P. N. Sharma ◽  
C. P. Sharma ◽  
N. Nautiyal

A reduction in the size of tassels, male flowers, and anthers resulted from molybdenum deficiency in maize. In molybdenum-deficient plants, anthesis was suppressed or delayed and the anthers had fewer and smaller pollen grains that lacked dense cytoplasmic contents, appeared shrivelled, and had poor viability. Because of molybdenum deficiency, there was a decrease in the activity of starch phosphorylase in mature and freshly shed pollen grains and decreases in the activities of invertase and acid phosphatase at all the five stages at which pollen grains were assayed for the enzymes. The activities of catalase and peroxidase were increased by molybdenum deficiency at all five stages and that of ribonuclease at four out of the five stages of pollen development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuangjuan Yang ◽  
Xinxin Tian ◽  
Zhiyong Wang ◽  
Xiaochun Wei ◽  
Yanyan Zhao ◽  
...  

Flower color is an important trait in plants. However, genes responsible for the white flower trait in Chinese cabbage are rarely reported. In this study, we constructed an F2 population derived from the Y640-288 (white flower) and Y641-87 (yellow flower) lines for the fine mapping of the white flower gene BrWF3 in Chinese cabbage. Genetic analysis indicated that BrWF3 was controlled by a single recessive gene. Using BSA-seq and KASP assays, BrWF3 was fine-mapped to an interval of 105.6 kb. Functional annotation, expression profiling, and sequence variation analyses confirmed that the AtPES2 homolog, Bra032957, was the most likely candidate gene for BrWF3. Carotenoid profiles and transmission electron microscopy analysis suggested that BrWF3 might participate in the production of xanthophyll esters (particularly violaxanthin esters), which in turn disrupt chromoplast development and the formation of plastoglobules (PGs). A SNP deletion in the third exon of BrWF3 caused the loss of protein function, and interfered with the normal assembly of PGs, which was associated with reduced expression levels of genes involved in carotenoid metabolism. Furthermore, we developed and validated the functional marker TXBH83 for BrWF3. Our results provide insight into the molecular mechanism underlying flower color pigmentation and reveal valuable information for marker-assisted selection (MAS) breeding in Chinese cabbage.


Author(s):  
Hongyan Xu ◽  
Jing Guo ◽  
Qing Meng ◽  
Zhanling Xie

<i>Morchella</i> is a genus of edible fungi with strong resistance to Cd and the ability to accumulate it in the mycelium. However, the mechanisms conferring Cd resistance in <i>Morchella</i> are unknown. In the present study, morphological and physiological responses to Cd were evaluated in the mycelia of <i>Morchella spongiola</i>. Variations in hyphal micro-morphology including twisting, folding and kinking in mycelia exposed to different Cd concentrations (0.15, 0.9, 1.5, 2.4, 5.0 mg/L) were observed using scanning electron microscopy. Deposition of Cd precipitates on cell surfaces (at Cd concentrations > 2.4 mg/L) was shown by SEM-EDS. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of cells exposed to different concentrations of Cd revealed the loss of intracellular structures and the localization of Cd depositions inside/outside the cell. FTIR analysis showed that functional groups such as C=O, -OH, -NH and -CH could be responsible for Cd binding on the cell surface of <i>M. spongiola</i>. In addition, intracellular accumulation was observed in cultures at low Cd concentrations (< 0.9 mg/L), while extracellular adsorption occurred at higher concentrations. These results provide valuable information on the Cd tolerance mechanism in <i>M. spongiola</i> and constitute a robust foundation for further studies on fungal bioremediation strategies.


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