Vacuoles perform multiple functions in plants, and VCL1 (VACUOLESS1) is essential for biogenesis with loss of expression in the vcl1 mutant leading to lethality. Vacuole biogenesis plays a prominent role in gametophytes, yet is poorly understood. Given the importance of VCL1, we asked if it contributes to vacuole biogenesis during pollen germination. To address this question, it was essential t...

Successful fruit set depends on several reproductive processes including pollen germination and tube growth processes. An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of temperature on pollen germination characteristics and to identify species/genotypic differences in Capsicum using the cumulative temperature response index (CTRI) concept. Pollen was collected from plants of seven genotype...

To identify genes with essential roles in male gametophytic development, including postpollination (progamic) events, we have undertaken a genetic screen based on segregation ratio distortion of a transposon-borne kanamycin-resistance marker. In a population of 3359 Arabidopsis Ds transposon insertion lines, we identified 20 mutants with stably reduced segregation ratios arising from reduced ga...

The focus of this study is to investigate the regulatory role of K(+) influx in Arabidopsis pollen germination and pollen tube growth. Using agar-containing media, in vitro methods for Arabidopsis pollen germination have been successfully established for the first time. The pollen germination percentage was nearly 75% and the average pollen tube length reached 135 microm after a 6 h incubation....

The role of heterotrimeric G proteins in pollen germination, tube growth, and signal transduction of extracellular calmodulin (CaM) was examined in lily pollen. Two kinds of antibodies raised against animal Gzalpha, one against an internal sequence and the other against its N terminus, cross-reacted with the same 41-kD protein from lily pollen plasma membrane. This 41-kD protein was also specif...

The artificial germination of plant pollens has met with varying success. As a whole, the pollen of the Gramineae has proved very difficult to germinate. While experiments with the pollen of many plants have resulted not only in ready germination but in satisfactory methods of preserving the pollen for considerable periods of time, the results with many of the Gramineae have been far from satis...

Article history: Received on: 16/05/2016 Revised on: 10/06/2016 Accepted on: 20/06/2016 Available online: 05/11/2016 In plants, pollen tube germination occurs widely in flowering plants. In Arabidopsis thaliana, it has been reported ARABINOGALACTAN PROTEIN 1 (AGP1) plays an important role in pollen tube germination. The expression of arabinogalactan protein in Arabidopsis pollen tubes has been ...

The pollen of five diploid and two tetraploid guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray) plants was cultured on nutrient media. It was observed that guayule pollen is released as tetrads of spores which will not ger­ minate on the media unless they are separated into individual pollen grains. For each plant, the results of the germination tests varied with the day and the time of day of the pollen co...

Pollen from three S-genotypes of Nicotiana alata was grown in vitro in the presence of S-glycoproteins isolated from styles of the same three genotypes. Pollen germination was not affected by the presence of the S-glycoproteins, but pollen tube growth of all genotypes was inhibited. S2 pollen was preferentially inhibited by the S2-glycoprotein and S3 pollen by the S3-glycoprotein. The S6-glycop...

Despite much effort, a robust protocol for in vitro germination of Arabidopsis thaliana pollen has been elusive. Here we show that controlled temperatures, a largely disregarded factor in previous studies, and a simple optimized medium, solidified or liquid, yielded pollen germination rates above 80% and pollen tube lengths of hundreds of microns, with both Columbia and Landsberg erecta (Ler) e...