Temperature is a major climatic factor that limits geographical distribution of plant species, and the reproductive phase has proven to be one of the most temperature-vulnerable stages. Here, we have used peach to evaluate the effect of temperature on some processes of the progamic phase, from pollination to the arrival of pollen tubes in the ovary. Within the range of temperatures studied, 20 ...

We examined exocytosis during oscillatory growth in lily (Lilium formosanum and Lilium longiflorum) and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) pollen tubes using three markers: (1) changes in cell wall thickness by Nomarski differential interference contrast (DIC), (2) changes in apical cell wall fluorescence in cells stained with propidium iodide (PI), and (3) changes in apical wall fluorescence in cells...

Pollen tubes formed following compatible and incompatible intraspecific matings in Petunia have been examined with light and electron microscopes. Compatible and incompatible tubes develop in an identical fashion on the stigma but, on entry into the top 1 mm of the stylar transmitting tissue changes occur both to the cytology of the tubes and their rates of growth. The early cytological changes...

The pollen tube of flowering plants undertakes a long journey to transport two sperm cells for double fertilization. New work on pollen tube guidance has identified an arabinogalactan-derived ovular factor that primes tubes to respond to female gametophyte-secreted attraction signals.

Actin filaments are often arranged into higher-order structures, such as the longitudinal actin cables that generate the reverse fountain cytoplasmic streaming pattern present in pollen tubes. While several actin binding proteins have been implicated in the generation of these cables, the mechanisms that regulate their dynamic turnover remain largely unknown. Here, we show that Arabidopsis thal...

The process of pollen germination and tube growth in the pistil involves a series of cell-cell interactions, some facilitating fertilization while others prohibiting pollen tube access to the female gametophyte, either because of incompatibility or as a result of mechanisms to avert polyspermy and to ensure reproductive success. Understanding pollen tube growth and guidance to the female gameto...

Pollen tubes grown in vitro require an intracellular tip-high gradient of Ca2+ in order to elongate. Moreover, after about 2 h in vitro both the tip Ca2+ and the elongation rate of lily tubes begin to oscillate regularly with large amplitudes. This raises the question of the phase relation between these two oscillations. Previous studies lacked the temporal resolution to accurately establish th...

The flowering plant Solanum chacoense uses an S-RNase-based self-incompatibility system in order to reject pollen that shares the same genes at the S-locus (S-haplotype) with the style (an incompatible reaction). Two different models have been advanced to explain how compatible pollen tubes are protected from the cytotoxic effects of the S-RNase, sequestration of the S-RNase in a vacuolar compa...