Antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (A-ODN) inhibition works well in animal cells. However, there have been few successful examples to date of its application in plants, and more specifically whether the technique can be used in pollen tubes as a model of plant cell growth. NtGNL1 plays an important role in pollen tube development and was thus selected as an indicator to assess the biological effect...

The anther, pollen and ovule development in Achillea tenuifolia were studied with a bright field microscopy. Results showed that the anther is of tetrasporangiate type and the anther wall is composed by four layers: an epidermis, an endothecium, one middle layer and a tapetum layer. Tapetum is of secretory type and its cells showed polyploidy. Pollen tetrads were tetrahedral, microspores were v...

MADS-box transcription factors play important role in plant growth and development, especially floral organ identities. In our study, a MADS-box gene SlGLO1- tomato floral homeotic protein FBP1-like gene was isolated. Its tissue-specific expression profile analysis showed that SlGLO1 was highly expressed in petals and stamens. RNAi (RNA interference) repression of SlGLO1 resulted in floral orga...

The increasing intensity and frequency of extreme heat events threaten crop productivity globally. Certain phases plant reproduction necessary for fertilization are highly sensitive to heat, particularly during pollen development, germination, tube elongation. However, few studies have assessed the effects on performance in perennial plants. To understand how northern highbush blueberry respond...

A dynamic actin cytoskeleton is essential for pollen germination and tube growth. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the organization and turnover of the actin cytoskeleton in pollen remain poorly understood. Villin plays a key role in the formation of higher-order structures from actin filaments and in the regulation of actin dynamics in eukaryotic cells. It belongs to the villin/gel...

In this essay, I convey the results of some of our recent studies of reproduction in the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. Our work has been influenced by the investigations of a large and interactive community of researchers studying a variety of plant systems, including lily, tobacco, maize, and plants from the mustard family (for recent reviews, see Cheung et al., 2000; Dixit and Nasrallah,...

Male gametophytes of plants are exposed to environmental stress and mutagenic agents during the double fertilization process and therefore need to repair the DNA damage in order to transmit the genomic information to the next generation. However, the DNA damage response in male gametes is still unclear. In the present study, we analysed the response to DNA damage in the generative cells of Cyrt...

Tip-growing pollen tubes provide a useful model system to study polar growth. Although roles for tip-focused calcium gradient and tip-localized Rho-family GTPase in pollen tube growth is established, the existence and function of tip-localized F-actin have been controversial. Using the green fluorescent protein-tagged actin-binding domain of mouse talin, we found a dynamic form of tip-localized...

The mean diameter of viable pollen grains is approximately 13 μm greater than the mean diameter of inviable grains in Mimulus guttatus. We show that this difference is large enough to be detected by particle counters and that these machines can be used to obtain a rapid estimate of pollen viability. While requiring a separate calibration, a size-based statistic is also strongly correlated with ...