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The International Journal of... 2009In order to cope with reproduction in a dry environment without any sort of motility, plants have developed a very specialized and unique sexual system. Of special... (Review)
Review
In order to cope with reproduction in a dry environment without any sort of motility, plants have developed a very specialized and unique sexual system. Of special notice, the two sperm cells that will perform the double fertilization typical of higher plants are carried by one of the fastest growing cells in nature, the pollen tube. This tube develops from the vegetative cell of the pollen grain upon germination on the female tissues. While it cannot be considered as a canonical excitable cell, pollen tubes depend for most of their fundamental functional features on a close regulation of ion dynamics, namely in terms of polarization of extracellular fluxes and formation of standing cytosolic free ion gradients, namely of calcium (Ca(2+)) and protons (H(+)). In turn, these imply that plasma membrane transporters are polarized, or polarly regulated, and that internal signaling cascades transduce this spatial information into the basic features of growth and morphogenesis needed for pollen tubes to target correctly the ovules and discharge the sperm cells. Because of the singularity of this organization, and the ease with which pollen tubes can be experimentally handled, recent years have witnessed an accumulation of data at many levels, from basic biophysical and cell biology characterization, to gene assignment and transcriptomic description of pollen development. In this review we aim to organize this information in terms of the basic biophysical features of membrane function and integrate it into conceptual testable hypotheses on how the dynamics of ion regulation may underlie fundamental properties of cell development.
Topics: Biological Transport; Calcium; Cell Membrane; Cell Polarity; Models, Biological; Pollen; Pollen Tube; Pollination; Protons; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 19247955
DOI: 10.1387/ijdb.072296em -
Advanced Healthcare Materials Aug 2017The efficient recognition and isolation of rare cancer cells holds great promise for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. In nature, pollens exploit spiky structures to...
The efficient recognition and isolation of rare cancer cells holds great promise for cancer diagnosis and prognosis. In nature, pollens exploit spiky structures to realize recognition and adhesion to stigma. Herein, a bioinspired pollen-like hierarchical surface is developed by replicating the assembly of pollen grains, and efficient and specific recognition to target cancer cells is achieved. The pollen-like surface is fabricated by combining filtering-assisted assembly and soft lithography-based replication of pollen grains of wild chrysanthemum. After modification with a capture agent specific to cancer cells, the pollen-like surface enables the capture of target cancer cells with high efficiency and specificity. In addition, the pollen-like surface not only assures high viability of captured cells but also performs well in cell mixture system and at low cell density. This study represents a good example of constructing cell recognition biointerfaces inspired by pollen-stigma adhesion.
Topics: Biomimetic Materials; Cell Adhesion; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Separation; Humans; Materials Testing; Neoplasms, Experimental; Pollen; Surface Properties
PubMed: 28471542
DOI: 10.1002/adhm.201700003 -
The New Phytologist Mar 2022Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play important roles during anther and pollen development. DNA damage may cause chromosome fragmentation that is considered to underlie...
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play important roles during anther and pollen development. DNA damage may cause chromosome fragmentation that is considered to underlie chromosome elimination for haploid induction by matrilineal pollen, a key step in MATRILINEAL-based double haploid breeding technology. But when and how DNA damage occurs is unknown. We performed comparative studies of wheat pollens from the wild-type and the CRISPR/Cas9 edited matrilineal mutant (mMTL). Chemical assays detected a second wave of ROS in mMTL pollen at the three-nuclei-stage and subsequently, along with reduced antioxidant enzyme activities. RNA-seq analysis revealed disturbed expression of genes for fatty acid biosynthesis and ROS homoeostasis. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry measurement identified abnormal fatty acid metabolism that may contribute to defective mMTL pollen walls as observed using electron microscopy, consistent with the function of MTL as a phospholipase. Moreover, DNA damage was identified using TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling and quantified using comet assays. Velocity patterns showed that ROS increments preceded that of DNA damage over the course of pollen maturation. Our work hypothesises that mMTL-triggered later-stage-specific ROS causes DNA damage that may contribute to chromosome fragmentation and hence chromosome elimination during haploid induction. These findings may provide more ways to accelerate double haploid-based plant breeding.
Topics: Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Haploidy; Plant Breeding; Pollen; Reactive Oxygen Species; Triticum
PubMed: 35015909
DOI: 10.1111/nph.17963 -
Scientific Reports Dec 2021Pollen selection affects honeybee colony development and productivity. Considering that pollen is consumed by young in-hive bees, and not by foragers, we hypothesized...
Pollen selection affects honeybee colony development and productivity. Considering that pollen is consumed by young in-hive bees, and not by foragers, we hypothesized that young bees learn pollen cues and adjust their preferences to the most suitable pollens. To assess whether young bees show preferences based on learning for highly or poorly suitable pollens, we measured consumption preferences for two pure monofloral pollens after the bees had experienced one of them adulterated with a deterrent (amygdalin or quinine) or a phagostimulant (linoleic acid). Preferences were obtained from nurse-aged bees confined in cages and from nurse bees in open colonies. Furthermore, we tested the bees' orientation in a Y-maze using a neutral odour (Linalool or Nonanal) that had been previously associated with an amygdalin-adulterated pollen. Consumption preferences of bees, both in cages and in colonies, were reduced for pollens that had been adulterated with deterrents and increased for pollens that had been supplemented with linoleic acid. In the Y-maze, individuals consistently avoided the odours that they had previously experienced paired with the deterrent-adulterated pollen. Results show that nurse-aged bees associate pollen-based or pollen-related cues with either a distasteful/malaise experience or a tasty/nutritious event, leading to memories that bias their pollen-mediated response.
Topics: Amygdalin; Animals; Bees; Feeding Behavior; Food Contamination; Learning; Linoleic Acid; Plant Nectar; Pollen
PubMed: 34857828
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02700-6 -
Molecular Ecology Resources Jan 2022Determining how pollinators visit plants vs. how they carry and transfer pollen is an ongoing project in pollination ecology. The current tools for identifying the...
Determining how pollinators visit plants vs. how they carry and transfer pollen is an ongoing project in pollination ecology. The current tools for identifying the pollens that bees carry have different strengths and weaknesses when used for ecological inference. In this study we use three methods to better understand a system of congeneric, coflowering plants in the genus Clarkia and their bee pollinators: observations of plant-pollinator contact in the field, and two different molecular methods to estimate the relative abundance of each Clarkia pollen in samples collected from pollinators. We use these methods to investigate if observations of plant-pollinator contact in the field correspond to the pollen bees carry; if individual bees carry Clarkia pollens in predictable ways, based on previous knowledge of their foraging behaviors; and how the three approaches differ for understanding plant-pollinator interactions. We find that observations of plant-pollinator contact are generally predictive of the pollens that bees carry while foraging, and network topologies using the three different methods are statistically indistinguishable from each other. Results from molecular pollen analysis also show that while bees can carry multiple species of Clarkia at the same time, they often carry one species of pollen. Our work contributes to the growing body of literature aimed at resolving how pollinators use floral resources. We suggest our novel relative amplicon quantification method as another tool in the developing molecular ecology and pollination biology toolbox.
Topics: Animals; Bees; Magnoliopsida; Pollen
PubMed: 34260821
DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13468 -
Plant Physiology Apr 2017Pollen development at high temperature depends on a fine balance between acclimation and injury.
Pollen development at high temperature depends on a fine balance between acclimation and injury.
Topics: Acclimatization; Hot Temperature; Pollen
PubMed: 28246296
DOI: 10.1104/pp.16.01644 -
Therapeutische Umschau. Revue... May 2001Pollinosis or hay fever is the most common allergic disease in Switzerland. For symptoms during spring pollens of birch and related trees (alder, hazel) and also ash...
Pollinosis or hay fever is the most common allergic disease in Switzerland. For symptoms during spring pollens of birch and related trees (alder, hazel) and also ash tree are responsible, while hay fever during summer is mainly caused by pollens of grasses, rye and mugwort. These main plant pollen allergens, relevant cross-reactivities with other pollen and food allergens are reviewed in this article. The well-established methods of pollen-counting in Switzerland allow to define the varying amounts of measurable pollen depending on geographic and climatic conditions. Similarly clinical symptoms, the diagnostic work-up of pollen allergies and therapeutic aspects including preventive measures, symptomatic therapy and specific immunotherapy are presented. Finally, occupational and travelling aspects of pollinosis are briefly discussed.
Topics: Diagnosis, Differential; Humans; Pollen; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal; Switzerland
PubMed: 11407229
DOI: 10.1024/0040-5930.58.5.285 -
Plant Physiology Mar 2022Successful reproduction in the Brassicaceae is mediated by a complex series of interactions between the pollen and the pistil, and some species have an additional layer...
Successful reproduction in the Brassicaceae is mediated by a complex series of interactions between the pollen and the pistil, and some species have an additional layer of regulation with the self-incompatibility trait. While the initial activation of the self-incompatibility pathway by the pollen S-locus protein 11/S locus cysteine-rich protein and the stigma S Receptor Kinase is well characterized, the downstream mechanisms causing self-pollen rejection are still not fully understood. In previous studies, we detected the presence of autophagic bodies with self-incompatible (SI) pollinations in Arabidopsis lyrata and transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana lines, but whether autophagy was essential for self-pollen rejection was unknown. Here, we investigated the requirement of autophagy in this response by crossing mutations in the essential AUTOPHAGY7 (ATG7) and ATG5 genes into two different transgenic SI A. thaliana lines in the Col-0 and C24 accessions. By using these previously characterized transgenic lines that express A. lyrata and Arabidopsis halleri self-incompatibility genes, we demonstrated that disrupting autophagy weakened their SI responses in the stigma. When the atg7 or atg5 mutations were present, an increased number of SI pollen was found to hydrate and form pollen tubes that successfully fertilized the SI pistils. Additionally, we confirmed the presence of GFP-ATG8a-labeled autophagosomes in the stigmatic papillae following SI pollinations. Together, these findings support the requirement of autophagy in the self-incompatibility response and add to the growing understanding of the intracellular mechanisms employed in the transgenic A. thaliana stigmas to reject self-pollen.
Topics: Arabidopsis; Autophagy; Pollen; Pollen Tube; Pollination
PubMed: 35078230
DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiac026 -
Planta Jul 2006Self-incompatibility (SI) prevents the production of "self" seed and inbreeding by providing a recognition and rejection system for "self," or genetically identical,... (Review)
Review
Self-incompatibility (SI) prevents the production of "self" seed and inbreeding by providing a recognition and rejection system for "self," or genetically identical, pollen. Studies of gametophytic SI (GSI) species at a molecular level have identified two completely different S-genes and SI mechanisms. One GSI mechanism, which is found in the Solanaceae, Rosaceae and Scrophulariaceae, has S-RNase as the pistil S-component and an F-box protein as the pollen S-component. However, non-S-locus factors are also required. In an incompatible situation, the S-RNases degrade pollen RNA, thereby preventing pollen tube growth. Here, in the light of recent evidence, we examine alternative models for how compatible pollen escapes this cytotoxic activity. The other GSI mechanism, so far found only in the Papaveraceae, has a small secreted peptide, the S-protein, as its pistil S-component. The pollen S-component remains elusive, but it is thought to be a transmembrane receptor, as interaction of the S-protein with incompatible pollen triggers a signaling network, resulting in rapid actin depolymerization and pollen tube inhibition and programmed cell death (PCD). Here, we present an overview of what is currently known about the mechanisms involved in regulating pollen tube inhibition in these two GSI systems.
Topics: Calcium Signaling; Germ Cells; Intracellular Membranes; Pollen; Ribonucleases; Solanaceae
PubMed: 16794841
DOI: 10.1007/s00425-006-0284-2 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Oct 2020When pollen grains become exposed to the environment, they rapidly desiccate. To protect themselves until rehydration, the grains undergo characteristic infolding with...
When pollen grains become exposed to the environment, they rapidly desiccate. To protect themselves until rehydration, the grains undergo characteristic infolding with the help of special structures in the grain wall-apertures-where the otherwise thick exine shell is absent or reduced in thickness. Recent theoretical studies have highlighted the importance of apertures for the elastic response and the folding of the grain. Experimental observations show that different pollen grains sharing the same number and type of apertures can nonetheless fold in quite diverse fashions. Using the thin-shell theory of elasticity, we show how both the absolute elastic properties of the pollen wall and the relative elastic differences between the exine wall and the apertures play an important role in determining pollen folding upon desiccation. Focusing primarily on colpate pollen, we delineate the regions of pollen elastic parameters where desiccation leads to a regular, complete closing of all apertures and thus to an infolding which protects the grain against water loss. Phase diagrams of pollen folding pathways indicate that an increase in the number of apertures leads to a reduction of the region of elastic parameters where the apertures close in a regular fashion. The infolding also depends on the details of the aperture shape and size, and our study explains how the features of the mechanical design of apertures influence the pollen folding patterns. Understanding the mechanical principles behind pollen folding pathways should also prove useful for the design of the elastic response of artificial inhomogeneous shells.
Topics: Biomechanical Phenomena; Desiccation; Elasticity; Pollen; Stachys
PubMed: 33028678
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2011084117