Pollen development in maize plants subjected to molybdenum deficiency

1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (18) ◽  
pp. 1946-1950 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Agarwala ◽  
C. Chatterjee ◽  
P. N. Sharma ◽  
C. P. Sharma ◽  
N. Nautiyal

A reduction in the size of tassels, male flowers, and anthers resulted from molybdenum deficiency in maize. In molybdenum-deficient plants, anthesis was suppressed or delayed and the anthers had fewer and smaller pollen grains that lacked dense cytoplasmic contents, appeared shrivelled, and had poor viability. Because of molybdenum deficiency, there was a decrease in the activity of starch phosphorylase in mature and freshly shed pollen grains and decreases in the activities of invertase and acid phosphatase at all the five stages at which pollen grains were assayed for the enzymes. The activities of catalase and peroxidase were increased by molybdenum deficiency at all five stages and that of ribonuclease at four out of the five stages of pollen development.


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.



1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 331 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Mckone ◽  
CJ Webb

The size of pollen grains from male and hermaphrodite flowers was compared in two species, Lignocarpa diversifolia (Cheeseman) J . Wyndham Dawson and Gingidia harveyana (F. Muell.) J . Wyndham Dawson (Apiaceae). In L. diversifolia, pollen grains from hermaphrodite flowers were on average 20% greater in volume than the grains from male flowers; in G. harveyana, pollen grains from hermaphrodite flowers were on average 13% greater in volume than grains from male flowers. There was also considerable variation in pollen size among flowers of each type, both within and among plants of both species. Conditions during pollen development could be important; the early arrest of development of the gynoecium in male flowers could have a general effect on the flower and result in smaller pollen. Alternatively, the size difference could be adaptive if pollen from hermaphrodite flowers fertilises flowers with longer styles than does the pollen from male flowers. The size difference also could result from selection for an increased number of pollen grains in male flowers if there is a trade off between pollen size and number.



Author(s):  
John R. Rowley

The morphology of the exine of many pollen grains, at the time of flowering, is such that one can suppose that transport of substances through the exine occurred during pollen development. Holes or channels, microscopic to submicroscopic, are described for a large number of grains. An inner part of the exine of Epilobium angustifolium L. and E. montanum L., which may be referred to as the endexine, has irregularly shaped channels early in pollen development although by microspore mitosis there is no indication of such channeling in chemically fixed material. The nucleus in microspores used in the experiment reported here was in prophase of microspore mitosis and the endexine, while lamellated in untreated grains, did not contain irregularly shaped channels. Untreated material from the same part of the inflorescence as iron treated stamens was examined following fixation with 0.1M glutaraldehyde in cacodylate-HCl buffer at pH 6.9 (315 milliosmoles) for 24 hrs, 4% formaldehyde in phosphate buffer at pH 7.2 (1,300 milliosmoles) for 12 hrs, 1% glutaraldehyde mixed with 0.1% osmium tetroxide for 20 min, osmium tetroxide in deionized water for 2 hrs and 1% glutaraldehyde mixed with 4% formaldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate-HCl buffer at pH 6.9 for two hrs.



Botany ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (8) ◽  
pp. 530-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Poinar ◽  
Royce Steeves

The Myristicaceae is a member of the early diverging angiosperm order Magnoliales; however, the family is poorly represented by fossil collections. We describe Virola dominicana sp. nov. (Myristicaceae), the first record of fossilized Myristicaceae flowers, from mid-Tertiary (45–15 million years ago) Dominican amber. The description is based on 24 male flowers in 17 pieces of amber, thus providing some indication of intraspecific variation, including a two-tepaled flower. Diagnostic characters of the new species are the long-simple or few-branched trichomes on the perianth margins, the small pollen grains, and a short staminal column. These fossils also show co-occurring insects, some of which could be Virola pollinators. It is speculated that V. dominicana disappeared from Hispaniola during the Pliocene–Pleistocene cooling events leaving no native members of the Myristicaceae in this region today. Additionally, these fossils demonstrate that Myristicaceae was present in the Western Hemisphere during the mid-Tertiary.



2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Zienkiewicz ◽  
E. Bednarska

The aim of the present work was the characterization of nuclear bodies in the microspore and developing pollen cells ofHyacinthus orientalisL.. The combination of Ag-NOR, immunofluorescence and immunogold techniques was used in this study. The obtained results showed the presence of highly agyrophylic extranucleolar bodies in microspore and developing pollen cells, which were finally identified as Cajal bodies. In all cases, a strong accumulation of snRNP-indicating molecules including TMG cap, Sm proteins and U2 snRNA, was observed in the examined nuclear bodies. In contrast to their number the size of the identified structures did not change significantly during pollen development. In the microspore and the vegetative cell of pollen grains CBs were more numerous than in the generative cell. At later stages of pollen development, a drastic decrease in CB number was observed and, just before anthesis, a complete lack of these structures was indicated in both pollen nuclei. On the basis of these results, as well as our previous studies, we postulate a strong relationship between Cajal body numbers and the levels of RNA synthesis and splicing machinery elements in microspore and developing pollen cells.



Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1287
Author(s):  
Liai Xu ◽  
Tingting Liu ◽  
Xingpeng Xiong ◽  
Weimiao Liu ◽  
Youjian Yu ◽  
...  

The pollen grains produced by flowering plants are vital for sexual reproduction. Previous studies have shown that two CCCH-type zinc-finger protein genes in Brassica campestris, BcMF30a and BcMF30c, are involved in pollen development. Due to their possible functional redundancy, gain-of-function analysis is helpful to reveal their respective biological functions. Here, we found that the phenotypes of BcMF30a and BcMF30c overexpression transgenic plants driven by their native promoters were similar, suggesting their functional redundancy. The results showed that the vegetative growth was not affected in both transgenic plants, but male fertility was reduced. Further analysis found that the abortion of transgenic pollen was caused by the degradation of pollen contents from the late uninucleate microspore stage. Subcellular localization analysis demonstrated that BcMF30a and BcMF30c could localize in cytoplasmic foci. Combined with the studies of other CCCH-type genes, we speculated that the overexpression of these genes can induce the continuous assembly of abnormal cytoplasmic foci, thus resulting in defective plant growth and development, which, in this study, led to pollen abortion. Both the overexpression and knockout of BcMF30a and BcMF30c lead to abnormal pollen development, indicating that the appropriate expression levels of these two genes are critical for the maintenance of normal pollen development.



2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyun Min Kim ◽  
Se Hee Park ◽  
Sang Hoon Ma ◽  
Seo Young Park ◽  
Chul-Ho Yun ◽  
...  

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a key signaling molecule that mediates plant response to stress. Increasing evidence indicates that ABA also regulates many aspects of plant development, such as seed germination, leaf development, and ripening. ABA metabolism, including ABA biosynthesis and degradation, is an essential aspect of ABA response in plants. In this study, we identified four cytochrome P450 genes (CaCYP707A1, 2, 3, and 4) that mediate ABA hydroxylation, which is required for ABA degradation in Capsicum annuum. We observed that CaCYP707A-mediated ABA hydroxylation promotes ABA degradation, leading to low levels of ABA and a dehydration phenotype in 35S:CaCYP707A plants. Importantly, seed formation was strongly inhibited in 35S:CaCYP707A plants, and a cross-pollination test suggested that the defect in seed formation is caused by improper pollen development. Phenotypic analysis showed that pollen maturation is suppressed in 35S:CaCYP707A1 plants. Consequently, most 35S:CaCYP707A1 pollen grains degenerated, unlike non-transgenic (NT) pollen, which developed into mature pollen grains. Together our results indicate that CaCYP707A mediates ABA hydroxylation and thereby influences pollen development, helping to elucidate the mechanism underlying ABA-regulated pollen development.



2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinhard K. Proels ◽  
Mari-Cruz González ◽  
Thomas Roitsch

The tomato extracellular invertase family comprises four members with different expression patterns. Among the three invertase isoenzymes expressed in floral tissues, Lin5, Lin6 and Lin7, the expression of Lin7 was previously shown to be restricted to the tapetum and pollen. Histochemical analysis of β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter activity shows Lin7 expression in pollen and pollen tubes of corresponding transgenic plants. The physiological relevance of the identification of gibberellin-responsive cis-acting elements for induction of the Lin7 promoter is supported by the repression of Lin7 expression in pollen grains by the gibberellin biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol. Functional approaches with transgenic tomato plants establish a link between gibberellin action and invertase function in the tapetum for pollen development: both tissue-specific antisense repression of extracellular Lin7 and ectopic inactivation of the biologically active GAs by expression of a GA2-oxidase under control of the Lin7 promoter result in germination deficient pollen. These complementary findings support the idea that the GA requirement of pollen development, pollen germination and pollen tube growth are linked to energy metabolism via the regulation of an extracellular invertase as a key enzyme for carbohydrate supply via an apoplasmic pathway.



Genome ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 987-997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Kindiger

Cytogenetic investigations of meiosis in hybrids between maize and Tripsacum have been well documented; however, the inherent problem of male and female sterility has not been addressed either on a genetic or cytogenetic level. The purpose of this cytological study was to identify some of the probable causes of male sterility in maize × Tripsacum dactyloides hybrids. Disturbances in pollen development of maize × T. dactyloides hybrids, derived from both diploid (2n) and tetraploid (4n) Tripsacum sources, were commonly observed. Anomalies in the development of the microspore apparently occurred because of a failure of the chromosomes to congregate at the metaphase plate, development of a tripolar spindle, and failure of cytokinesis at the first and second meiotic divisions. Phenotypic features of abnormal microspore development were the maturation of large pollen grains, "Siamese" pollen grains, the occurrence of variable invaginations, and a nuclear budding-type behavior. These abnormalities were not observed in the 56-chromosome amphidiploid or the 38-chromosome backcross generations.Key words: maize, Tripsacum, microspore, sterility.



1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (9) ◽  
pp. 1448-1459 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Pacini

The different types of tapetum found in the spermatophyta are described, along with associated characters. The characters (taken singly, pairwise, or in multiple combinations) are (i) tapetum types; (ii) cell walls, tapetum types, and loculus; (iii) tapetal cells individually, tapetum types, and loculus; (iv) number of pollen grains enveloped by tapetal cells and type of pollen dispersing unit; (v) cell types and tapetum types; (vi) number of nuclei per cell and tapetum type; (vii) cycles of hyperactivity; (viii) exine formation; (ix) orbicles; (x) peritapetal membrane; (xi) plastid differentiation; (xii) stage of pollen development in which tapetal cells degenerate and type of pollen coat; (xiii) storage vacuoles; (xiv) sporophytic proteins; and (xv) devices of tapetal origin responsible for compound pollen formation and pollination. Examples are given and an analytical key of structural and functional diversity is provided as a helpful approach to the study of the tapetum. Key words: tapetum types, activities, pollen dispersing units.



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