Chemotropic responses by pearl millet pollen tubes

Reger, Bonnie J.; Chaubal, R.; Pressey, Russell

doi:10.1007/bf00714557

Cited by 63 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…External calcium ions were first identified as a potential attractant in the snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus) pistil using classic in vitro tests (Mascarenhas and Machlis, 1962). Other small molecules, including sugars (Reger et al, 1992) and nitric oxide (Prado et al, 2004), are also reported to control directionality of the pollen tube by using in vitro tests. A 9.9-kD basic protein, chemocyanin, was isolated from lily (Lilium longiflorum) stigma proteins by biochemical fractionation using in vitro tests of its ability to attract pollen tubes (Kim et al, 2003).…”

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“…One is the external calcium ion. In vitro test results suggest that calcium is an attractant derived from the pistil, in particular the ovule Machlis, 1962, 1964;Reger et al, 1992). Using various histochemical methods including calcium antimonate precipitation, proton-induced x-ray emission, and fluorescent calcium probes, high concentrations of calcium have been observed in synergid cells and the neighboring extracellular matrices in various species (Jensen, 1965;Chaubal and Reger, 1990, 1992a, 1992bHuang and Russell, 1992;Tirlapur et al, 1993;Tian and Russell, 1997), including T. fournieri (Kristó f et al, 1999).…”

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Species Preferentiality of the Pollen Tube Attractant Derived from the Synergid Cell ofTorenia fournieri

et al. 2006

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The synergid cell of Torenia fournieri attracts pollen tubes by a diffusible but yet unknown chemical attractant. Here we investigated the species difference of the attractant using five closely related species in two genera, namely T. fournieri, Torenia baillonii, Torenia concolor, Lindernia (Vandellia) crustacea, and Lindernia micrantha. These five species have an exserted embryo sac, and ablation experiments confirmed that their synergid cells attracted the pollen tube. When ovules of T. fournieri and one of the other species were cultivated together with pollen tubes of each species, pollen tubes were significantly more attracted to synergid cells of the corresponding species. The attraction was not affected by the close proximity of embryo sacs of different species. This suggests that the attractant is a species-preferential molecule that is likely synthesized in the synergid cell. The calcium ion, long considered a potential attractant, could not serve as the sole attractant in these species, because elevation of the calcium ion concentration did not affect the observed attraction. In vivo crossing experiments also showed that the attraction of the pollen tube to the embryo sac was impaired when pollen tubes of different species arrived around the embryo sac, suggesting that the species preferentiality of the attractant may serve as a reproductive barrier in the final step of directional control of the pollen tube.

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Species Preferentiality of the Pollen Tube Attractant Derived from the Synergid Cell ofTorenia fournieri

et al. 2006

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“…The fact that pollen exhibits such invertase activity strongly suggests that pollen imports carbohydrates in the form of monosaccharides, and it was shown that the antisense repression of a tapetum-and pollen-specific extracellular invertase Nin88 in tobacco induced male sterility (Goetz et al 2001). Stigmatic tissues from pearl millet have been shown to attract pollen tubes (Reger et al 1992a). It was shown that invertase activity is present in this tissue and converts sucrose in the medium into fructose and glucose, the latter having chemotropic activity on pearl millet pollen tubes in vitro (Reger et al 1992b).…”

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Promoter activity of a putative pollen monosaccharide transporter in Petunia hybrida and characterisation of a transposon insertion mutant

2006

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Summary.For the growth of the male reproductive cells of plants, the pollen, the presence of sufficient sucrose or monosaccharides is of vital importance. From Petunia hybrida a pollen-specific putative monosaccharide transporter designated PMT1 (for petunia monosaccharide transporter) has been identified previously. The present work provides an in-depth analysis and characterisation of PMT1 in the context of pollen development with the GUS reporter gene and an insertion mutant. The promoter of the pollen-specific putative PMT1 gene has been isolated by inverse PCR and sequenced. Analysis of plants transformed with the promoter-GUS fusion confirmed the specificity of this gene, belonging to the late pollen-specific expressed genes. GUS activity was detected even after 24 h of in vitro pollen germination, at the pollen tube tip. To elucidate the importance of PMT1 for gametophyte development and fertilisation, we isolated a mutant plant containing a transposon insertion in the PMT1 gene by the dTph1 transposon-tagging PCR-based assay. The PMT1 mutant contained a dTph1 insertion in position 1474 bp of the transcribing part of the gene, before the last two transmembrane-spanning domains. Analysis of the progeny of the heterozygous mutant after selfing revealed no alterations in pollen viability and fertility. Mature pollen grains of a plant homozygous for the transposon insertion were able to germinate in vitro in a medium containing sucrose, glucose, or fructose, which indicates that PMT1 is not essential for pollen survival. Several explanations for these results are discussed in the present work.

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“…In Nicotiana tabacum, the final stage of maturation of the embyro sac is concomitant with the accumulation of calcium in the nucellar tissue surrounding the micropylar canal (Tian and Russel, 1997). This extracellular calcium may serve as a chemotropic attractant to the pollen tube (Reger et al, 1992) and may ultimately enter the synergid increasing its intracellular calcium content. After examining synergid degeneration in pearl millet, which occurs in the absence of pollination, Chaubal and Reger (1994) proposed that calcium moving from the apoplast of nucellar tissue surrounding the embryo sac enters the endoplasmic reticulum and numerous small vacuoles present in the synergids.…”

Section: Death Of Synergidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Programmed cell death during plant growth and development

Beers

1997

Cell Death Differ

147

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This review describes programmed cell death as it signifies the terminal differentiation of cells in anthers, xylem, the suspensor and senescing leaves and petals. Also described are cell suicide programs initiated by stress (e.g., hypoxiainduced aerenchyma formation) and those that depend on communication between neighboring cells, as observed for incompatible pollen tubes, the suspensor and synergids in some species. Although certain elements of apoptosis are detectable during some plant programmed cell death processes, the participation of autolytic and perhaps autophagic mechanisms of cell killing during aerenchyma formation, tracheary element differentiation, suspensor degeneration and senescence support the conclusion that nonapoptotic programmed cell death pathways are essential to normal plant growth and development. Heterophagic elimination of dead cells, a prominent feature of animal apoptosis, is not evident in plants. Rather autolysis and autophagy appear to govern the elimination of cells during plant cell suicide.

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Chemotropic responses by pearl millet pollen tubes

Cited by 63 publications

References 46 publications

Species Preferentiality of the Pollen Tube Attractant Derived from the Synergid Cell ofTorenia fournieri

Species Preferentiality of the Pollen Tube Attractant Derived from the Synergid Cell ofTorenia fournieri

Promoter activity of a putative pollen monosaccharide transporter in Petunia hybrida and characterisation of a transposon insertion mutant

Programmed cell death during plant growth and development

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