Development of Cucurbita pepo pollen: ultrastructure and histochemistry of the sporoderm

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (7) ◽  
pp. 1046-1057 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Nepi ◽  
F. Ciampolini ◽  
E. Pacini

Sporoderm development is described in Cucurbita pepo, a species characterized by large spinous pollen grains covered by pollenkitt; i.e. the degeneration product of the tapetum. During the tetrad stage, separate types of primexine are observed for microspines and macrospines. At maturity these spines are affected differently by acetolysis: microspines contain polysaccharides as well as sporopollenin, and macrospine contain only sporopollenin. Unlike other species investigated so far, the intine begins to form at the early microspore stage and is very complex in the pore area where it forms a Zwischenkörper. The pore is covered by a protein layer of sporophytic origin and by the operculum. Just before anther opening, the pore protrudes, exposing part of the poral intine. Mature pollen has a thin callosic wall. The findings are discussed in the light of the fact that Cucurbita pepo pollen does not dehydrate prior to anthesis. Key words: Cucurbita pepo, pollen, sporoderm, exine, intine, sporophytic proteins.

2007 ◽  
Vol 132 (6) ◽  
pp. 777-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyong Hu ◽  
Min Zhang ◽  
Qigen Wen ◽  
Jie Wei ◽  
Hualin Yi ◽  
...  

Seedlessness is of commercial importance in citrus (Citrus L.). Seedless ‘Ougan’ mandarin (C. suavissima) was selected from a bud sport mutation that occurred in ‘Ougan’ mandarin. We analyzed their pollen viability through KI-I2 and FDA staining, and examined the anthers of wild-type (seedy) and seedless mutant ‘Ougan’ mandarin using histological and cytochemical methods to characterize the process of pollen development. No pollen fertility was detected in this mutant. Pollen abortion in anthers of the mutant occurred at the tetrad stage of microspore development, and almost all the tetrads were abnormal. The mutant had heterogeneous microspore populations, including monads, dyads, triads, tetrads, and polyads in the same microsporangium. Pollen grain number per anther of the mutant was 21.9% less than the wild type. Morphology of mature pollen grains using SEM showed that the shape of mature pollen grains from both wild type and mutant is similar, but the microsporangia of the latter contained pollen grains of more variable sizes. At the early mature pollen grain stage, abundant starch grains and lipids appeared in the wild type's pollen, but fewer amounts were observed in the mutant. Moreover, the tapetal cells of the wild type accumulated lipids, but not those of the mutant. Results indicated that the abnormal development of the microspore led to pollen abortion in the mutant, and this could be the reason for its seedlessness. However, the genetic reasons for the aberrant tetrads are not clear and are under investigation.


HortScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 945-950
Author(s):  
Weiping Zhong ◽  
Zhoujun Zhu ◽  
Fen Ouyang ◽  
Qi Qiu ◽  
Xiaoming Fan ◽  
...  

The normal development of anthers and the formation of functional pollen are the prerequisites for successful pollination and fertilization. In this study, we observed dynamic changes in inflorescence and anther development in the chinquapin (Castanea henryi) using stereomicroscopy, light microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. We found that cytokinesis during meiosis in microsporocytes was of the simultaneous type, and that the tetrads were mainly tetrahedral. Mature pollen grains contained two cells with three germ pores. The anther wall was of the basic type and composed of epidermis, endothecium, middle layers, and tapetum. Mature anthers had no middle layer and tapetum. The tapetum was of the glandular type. At the early microspore stage, a large number of starch granules appeared in the endothecium, which was deformed at the late microspore stage. Lipid droplets appeared in tapetum during the early microspore stage, and a few lipid droplets were still found during tapetum degeneration. The mature pollen accumulated a large amount of starch and lipids. These findings demonstrated that the anther wall provides nutrients and protection for pollen development. There is relatively stable correspondence between the external morphological characteristics of male flowers and internal structure of anther development.


2011 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filiz Vardar ◽  
Meral Ünal

Cytochemical and ultrastructural observations of anthers and pollen grains inLathyrus undulatusBoissInLathyrus undulatusBoiss. (Fabaceae), the young microspore stage of anther development was characterized by the enlarged secretory tapetal cells, which presented an intense reaction with regard to protein, insoluble polysaccharides and lipids. At bicellular pollen stage, the middle layer and the tapetum degenerated. After degradation of the tapetum, epidermis and single row U-shaped endothecium existed in the mature anther wall, and pollen grains remained in the locus. Young microspores had a spherical and centrally located nucleus with one or two nucleoli, many spherical lipid bodies and starchy plastids. A mature pollen grain contains insoluble polysaccharides, proteins, lipids and calcium. The mature pollen had the following morphological characteristics: 3-zonocolporate, prolate, tectate (imperforate) type of exine and perforate type of structure. The intine formed an important constituent portion of the wall, and consisted two sublayers: an outer intine (exintine) and an inner intine (endintine). The well-defined exine was made up of lipoidal substances and protein, but the intine composed of insoluble polysaccharides and protein. The bicellular state of the pollen grains persisted to anthesis.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2398
Author(s):  
Lenka Steinbachová ◽  
Jaroslav Matoušek ◽  
Gerhard Steger ◽  
Helena Matoušková ◽  
Sebastjan Radišek ◽  
...  

Viroids are small, non-coding, parasitic RNAs that promote developmental distortions in sensitive plants. We analyzed pollen of Nicotiana benthamiana after infection and/or ectopic transformation with cDNAs of citrus bark cracking viroid (CBCVd), apple fruit crinkle viroid (AFCVd) and potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) variant AS1. These viroids were seed non-transmissible in N. benthamiana. All viroids propagated to high levels in immature anthers similar to leaves, while their levels were drastically reduced by approximately 3.6 × 103, 800 and 59 times in mature pollen of CBCVd, AFCVd and PSTVd infected N. benthamiana, respectively, in comparison to leaves. These results suggest similar elimination processes during male gametophyte development as in the Nicotiana tabacum we presented in our previous study. Mature pollen of N. benthamiana showed no apparent defects in infected plants although all three viroids induced strong pathological symptoms on leaves. While Nicotiana species have naturally bicellular mature pollen, we noted a rare occurrence of mature pollen with three nuclei in CBCVd-infected N. benthamiana. Changes in the expression of ribosomal marker proteins in AFCVd-infected pollen were detected, suggesting some changes in pollen metabolism. N. benthamiana transformed with 35S-driven viroid cDNAs showed strong symptoms including defects in pollen development. A large number of aborted pollen (34% and 62%) and a slight increase of young pollen grains (8% and 15%) were found in mature pollen of AFCVd and CBCVd transformants, respectively, in comparison to control plants (3.9% aborted pollen and 0.3% young pollen). Moreover, pollen grains with malformed nuclei or trinuclear pollen were found in CBCVd-transformed plants. Our results suggest that “forcing” overexpression of seed non-transmissible viroid led to strong pollen pathogenesis. Viroid adaptation to pollen metabolism can be assumed as an important factor for viroid transmissibility through pollen and seeds.


1937 ◽  
Vol 51 (606) ◽  
pp. 524-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuhide Suita
Keyword(s):  

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Hongli Chang ◽  
Fengjie Sun

Early floral developmental investigations provide crucial evidence for phylogenetic and molecular studies of plants. The developmental and evolutionary mechanisms underlying the variations in floral organs are critical for a thorough understanding of the diversification of flowers. Ontogenetic comparisons between anthers and pistil within single flowers were characterized over time in Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi. The ages of 42 tobacco flower or flower primordia were estimated using corolla growth analysis. Results showed that the protodermal layer in carpel primordia contributes to carpel development by both anticlinal and periclinal divisions. Periclinal divisions in the hypodermal layer of the placenta were observed around 4.8 ± 1.3 days after the formation of early carpel primordia (ECP) and ovule initiation occurred 10.0 ± 0.5 days after ECP. Meiosis in anthers and ovules began about 8.9 ± 1.1 days and 14.4 ± 1.3 days after ECP, respectively. Results showed an evident temporal distinction between megasporogenesis and microsporogenesis. Flower ages spanned a 17-day interval, starting with flower primordia containing the ECP and anther primordia to the tetrad stage of meiosis in megasporocytes and the bicellular stage in pollen grains. These results establish a solid foundation for future studies in order to identify the developmental and molecular mechanisms responsible for the mating system in tobacco.


Grana ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 447-461
Author(s):  
Zulima González-Parrado ◽  
Delia Fernández-González ◽  
Rosa M. Valencia-Barrera ◽  
Ana M. Vega-Maray

1970 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Ozler ◽  
S Pehlivan

Pollen grains of 20 taxa from two genera of the Liliaceae were examined and compared by LM (light microscope), SEM (scanning electron microscope) and pollens of four taxa were also examined with TEM (transmission electron microscope). Pollen grains shed as monads. They are monosulcate and ellipsoidal. Fritillaria crassifolia subsp. crassifolia Freyn & Smt. sometimes sheds the pollen as dyads. Exine is semitectate and the tectum is perforate. Columellae are simplicolumellate. Ectexine is thicker than endexine. Exine sculpture (ornamentation) is reticulate, reticulate-rugulate, rugulate and retipilate in Asparagus pollens and reticulate, suprareticulate, rugulate-reticulate and striate-reticulate in Fritillaria pollens. Sulcus extends from distal to proximal in some pollens of Asparagus and Fritillaria.   Key words: Asparagus, Fritillaria, Liliaceae, Pollen morphology DOI = 10.3329/bjb.v36i2.1498 Bangladesh J. Bot. 36(2): 111-120, 2007 (December)


2000 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teiji Nakamura ◽  
Masahiro Chiba ◽  
Setsuo Koike ◽  
Iwao Nishiyama

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 1039-1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. L. Polowick ◽  
V. K. Sawhney

Microspores undergo considerable ultrastructural changes between the tetrad and early binucleate microspore stages of microsporogenesis in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). Pollen wall deposition began late in the tetrad stage, and by the early microspore stage a lamellar foot layer and tectum were deposited. Sculpturing of the tectum was evident by the early binucleate microspore stage. Dictyosomes and vesicles were abundant during the period of pollen wall formation. Plastids were associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to form plastid–ER complexes, from the late tetrad to the vacuolate microspore stage. At the vacuolate microspore stage, endoplasmic reticulum independent of plastids was also observed, and at the early binucleate microspore stage ER was not associated with plastids. Free ribosomes were evenly distributed throughout the cytoplasm until the vacuolate microspore stage when they were organized into polysomes. Mitochondria were spherical to ellipsoid, with an electron-dense matrix and swollen cristae, until the early binucleate microspore stage when they were highly elongate and became convoluted. Key words: Lycopersicon esculentum, microsporogenesis, pollen development, tetrads, tomato, ultrastructure.


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