Pollen and Pollen Tube Proteomics

Germinated pollen grains form pollen tubes that accomplish rapid polarized growth within female gametophytic tissues in order to deliver the sperm cell to the ovule. This process is essential for successful plant fertilization in vivo. Pollen tubes are considered to be an ideal model system to study tip growth. A more comprehensive understanding of proteins involved in pollen development, germination and tube elongation is important not only for unraveling the intricate machinery of sexual reproduction in flowering plants, but has considerable potential for the improvement of crop plant production. Integrated proteomic, genomic and cell biological studies offer powerful tools for dissection of the fascinating mechanisms of pollen development and tip-growth regulation in higher plants. Here, we provide a brief overview of current advances in pollen and pollen tube proteomics. Tong Chen, Key Laboratory of Photosynthesis and Molecular Environmental Physiology, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China Xiaoqin Wu, Key Laboratory of Photosynthesis and Molecular Environmental Physiology, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China Yanmei Chen, Key Laboratory of Photosynthesis and Molecular Environmental Physiology, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China Nils Böhm, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany, University of Bonn, Kirschallee 1, 53115 Bonn, Germany Correspondence author: Jinxing Lin, Key Laboratory of Photosynthesis and Molecular Environmental Physiology, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiangshan, Beijing 100093, China, E-mail: [email protected] Jozef Šamaj, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany, University of Bonn, Kirschallee 1, 53115 Bonn, Germany Jozef Šamaj, Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Akademicka 2, 95007, Nitra, Slovak Republic