Experiment on estimation of qualitative changes in populations of meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) after seed storage in different conditions were taken. Phenotypical traits for plants derived from seeds stored during 54 months in two different kind of storage conditions were compared. Storage of meadow fescue seed during 54 months in unfavourable conditions resulted in decrease of initi...

A study of the effects of different steroids on germination and tube growth of tobacco pollen (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv Petit Havana SR1) matured in vitro is presented. Application of the mammalian steroid sex hormones (testosterone, progesterone, and estradiol) resulted in a stimulation of pollen germination and tube elongation. The presence of both steroids and flavonols in the germination med...

In order to determine the response of pollen to UV-B irradiation and cumulative effects of UV-B exposure time on pollen germination and tube growth, 19 taxa of higher plants were investigated in vitro concerning the exposure of pollen grains to two levels of enhanced ultraviolet-B (UV-BBE) (280–320 nm, 350 and 500 mW/m biologically effective UV-B radiation) simulating 8 and 21% stratospheric oz...

Aloe vera L., is a perennial, evergreen, freely suckering plant, distributed throughout the world and widely recognized for its medicinal and cosmetic values. Species have naturalized well in tropical to sub tropical regions of India. Plants growing in these regions are prolific flower producer but do not set any seed. The flowering period of the species in the subtropical climates of Jammu J &...

Terrestrial plant pollen is classified into two categories based on its metabolic status: pollen with low-metabolism are termed "orthodox" and pollen with high-metabolism are termed "recalcitrant." Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is crucial for a number of metabolisms in all extant organisms. It has recently been shown that NAD homeostasis plays an important role in a broad range of dev...

Earlier reports have indicated that the pollen of Eucalyptus is mechanically robust and unusually resistant to the osmotic stress imposed by immersion in water. We have investigated some of the features of the germination mechanism in the pollen of E. rhodantha with a view to clarifying the role of pollen-wall specializations in determining this resistance. Cultured in vitro, the pollen showed ...

Pollen germination and pollen tube growth are thought to require extracellular cues, but how these cues are perceived and transduced remains largely unknown. Pollen receptor kinases are plausible candidates for this role; they might bind extracellular ligands and thereby mediate cytoplasmic events required for pollen germination and pollen tube growth. To search for pollen-expressed ligands for...

The alternative oxidase (AOX) is a cyanide-resistant oxidase that provides an alternative outlet for electrons from the respiratory electron transport chain embedded in the inner membrane of plant mitochondria. Examination of soybean (Glycine max) plants carrying a GmAOX2b antisense gene showed AOX to have a central role in reproductive development and fecundity. In three independently transfor...

Prevailing ambient temperature during the reproductive phase is one of several important factors for seed and fruit set in different plant species, and its consequences on reproductive success may increase with global warming. The effect of temperature on pollen performance was evaluated in sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.), comparing as pollen donors two cultivars that differ in their adaptation ...

Jatropha curcas belongs to family of Euphorbiaceae, and is an important biological tree species for diesel production. The current descriptions of the phenotypic traits for male and female flowers are not comprehensive and there have been no reports about the process of J. curcas from pollen germination on stigma to pollen tubes conducting fertilization after entering the ovary and ovule. To as...