Anther and pollen development in some species of Poaceae (Poales)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The interrelationship between the accumulation of lipids, protein and the level of acyl carrier protein during the development of Brassica napus L. pollen

Lipid accumulation during pollen and tapetal development was studied using cryostat sections of unfixed anthers from Brassica napus (rapeseed). Diamidino-2-henylindole (DAPI), a DNA fluorochrome, was used to stain the pollen nuclei in order to identify ten stages of pollen development in Brassica. Storage lipids (i.e. triacylglycerides) were stained using the fluorochrome Nile red. Pollen coat lipids are formed in tapetal plastids between the mid-vacuolate and early maturation pollen stages. The pollen coat components, including lipids and a proportion of the proteins, are derived from the remnants of the tapetum, after its rupture, during the second pollen mitosis. Quantitative microfluorometric analyses demonstrated four phases of lipid body accumulation or depletion in the developing pollen cytoplasm. The majority of storage lipids found in the cytoplasm of the mature pollen grain accumulated during the late vacuolate and early maturation stages when the pollen is bicellular. The level of acyl carrier protein, a protein integrally involved in lipid synthesis, was also found to be maximal in the developing pollen during the bicellular pollen stages of development. This coincided with the most active period of lipid accumulation. These data could indicate that the lipids of the pollen are synthesized in situ, by metabolic processes regulated by expression of genes in the haploid genome.

Detection of brassinosteroids in pollen of Lolium perenne L. by immunocytochemistry

Bioactive brassinosteroids have been localized in developing and mature pollen of anhydrously fixed rye-grass (Lolium perenne) by immunocytochemistry using polyclonal antibodies to castasterone generated in rabbits. Tricellular pollen fixed by freeze-substitution was also labelled in the starch granules. Study of the developmental sequence of the pollen through the microsporocyte, microspore, bicellular and tricellular stages showed that the brassinosteroids were increasingly sequestered in starch granules as the amyloplasts matured, supporting the view that these are storage organelles for these potent plant growth promoters. In bicellular pollen, heavy labelling was seen in the zone within 0.5 μm of the starch granule, where stromal tissue remains. Thus, the stroma may be the site of synthesis of these compounds. During aqueous fixation, the brassinosteroids leached from the starch granules of tricellular pollen, indicating that they would be quickly available after imbibition to influence the physiology of germinating pollen. The results from high-performance liquid chromatography of dansylaminophenylboronates from partially purified extracts of freshly dehisced tricellular pollen of rye-grass showed 25-methylcastasterone may be a minor component, together with two unknown peaks. No specific binding of brassinolide to any soluble proteins extracted from tricellular rye-grass pollen was observed using the antibodies in gel electrophoresis or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

Evidence of pseudomonad pollen formation in Hypolytrum (Mapanioideae, Cyperaceae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Developmental changes in DNA methylation of the two tobacco pollen nuclei during maturation

Changes in DNA methylation during tobacco pollen development have been studied by confocal fluorescence microscopy using a monoclonal anti-5-methylcytosine (anti-m5C) antibody and a polyclonal anti-histone H1 (anti-histone) antibody as an internal standard. The specificity of the anti-m5C antibody was demonstrated by a titration series against both single-stranded DNA and double-stranded DNA substrates in either the methylated or unmethylated forms. The antibody was found to show similar kinetics against both double- and single-stranded DNA, and the fluorescence was proportional to the amount of DNA used. No signal was observed with unmethylated substrates. The extent of methylation of the two pollen nuclei remained approximately constant after the mitotic division that gave rise to the vegetative and generative nuclei. However, during the subsequent development of the pollen, the staining of the generative nucleus decreased until it reached a normalized value of \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} \begin{equation*}\frac{1}{5}\end{equation*}\end{document} of that of the vegetative nucleus. The use of a confocal microscope makes these data independent of possible focusing artefacts. The anti-histone antibody was used as a control to show that, while the antibody staining directed against 5-methylcytosine changed dramatically during pollen maturation, the histone signal did not. We observed the existence of structural dimorphism amongst tobacco pollen grains, the majority having three pollen apertures and the rest with four. However, the methylation changes observed occurred to the same extent in both subclasses.

A cytoplasmic male sterility-associated mitochondrial protein causes pollen disruption in transgenic tobacco.

In higher plants, dominant mitochondrial mutations are associated with pollen sterility. This phenomenon is known as cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS). It is thought that the disruption in pollen development is a consequence of mitochondrial dysfunction. To provide definitive evidence that expression of an abnormal mitochondrial gene can interrupt pollen development, a CMS-associated mitochondrial DNA sequence from common bean, orf239, was introduced into the tobacco nuclear genome. Several transformants containing the orf239 gene constructs, with or without a mitochondrial targeting sequence, exhibited a semi sterile or male-sterile phenotype. Expression of the gene fusions in transformed anthers was confirmed using RNA gel blotting, ELISA, and light and electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Immunocytological analysis showed that the ORF239 protein could associate with the cell wall of aberrant developing microspores. This pattern of extracellular localization was earlier observed in the CMS common bean line containing orf239 in the mitochondrial genome. Results presented here demonstrate that ORF239 causes pollen disruption in transgenic tobacco plants and may do so without targeting of the protein to the mitochondrion.

Pollen specific expression of maize genes encoding actin depolymerizing factor-like proteins.

In pollen development, a dramatic reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton takes place during the passage of the pollen grain into dormancy and on activation of pollen tube growth. A role for actin-binding proteins is implicated and we report here the identification of a small gene family in maize that encodes actin depolymerizing factor (ADF)-like proteins. The ADF group of proteins are believed to control actin polymerization and depolymerization in response to both intracellular and extracellular signals. Two of the maize genes ZmABP1 and ZmABP2 are expressed specifically in pollen and germinating pollen suggesting that the protein products may be involved in pollen actin reorganization. A third gene, ZmABP3, encodes a protein only 56% and 58% identical to ZmABP1 and ZmABP2, respectively, and its expression is suppressed in pollen and germinated pollen. The fundamental biochemical characteristics of the ZmABP proteins has been elucidated using bacterially expressed ZmABP3 protein. This has the ability to bind monomeric actin (G-actin) and filamentous actin (F-actin). Moreover, it decreases the viscosity of polymerized actin solutions consistent with an ability to depolymerize filaments. These biochemical characteristics, taken together with the sequence comparisons, support the inclusion of the ZmABP proteins in the ADF group.

LeProT1, a Transporter for Proline, Glycine Betaine, and γ-Amino Butyric Acid in Tomato Pollen

During maturation, pollen undergoes a period of dehydration accompanied by the accumulation of compatible solutes.Solute import across the pollen plasma membrane, which occurs via proteinaceous transporters, is required to support pollen development and also for subsequent germination and pollen tube growth. Analysis of the free amino acid composition of various tissues in tomato revealed that the proline content in flowers was 60 times higher than in any other organ analyzed. Within the floral organs, proline was confined predominantly to pollen, where it represented >70 of total free amino acids. Uptake experiments demonstrated that mature as well as germinated pollen rapidly take up proline. To identify proline transporters in tomato pollen, we isolated genes homologous to Arabidopsis proline transporters. LeProT1 was specifically expressed both in mature and germinating pollen, as demonstrated by RNA in situ hybridization. Expression in a yeast mutant demonstrated that LeProT1 transports proline and γ-amino butyric acid with low affinity and glycine betaine with high affinity. Direct uptake and competition studies demonstrate that LeProT1 constitutes a general transporter for compatible solutes.

Expression-based and co-localization detection of arabinogalactan protein 6 and arabinogalactan protein 11 interactors in Arabidopsis pollen and pollen tubes

Arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) are cell wall proteoglycans that have been shown to be important for pollen development. An Arabidopsis double null mutant for two pollen-specific AGPs (agp6 agp11) showed reduced pollen tube growth and compromised response to germination cues in vivo. A microarray experiment was performed on agp6 agp11 pollen tubes to search for genetic interactions in the context of pollen tube growth. A yeast two-hybrid experiment for AGP6 and AGP11 was also designed.

松杉类植物花粉发育和传粉生物学的研究

本文用光学显微镜结合荧光技术对青扦花粉的发育过程进行了观察;用共聚焦显微镜观察了白扦生长花粉管细胞内的游离Ca2+分布;利用原子力显微镜对雪松和水杉花粉外壁的亚结构进行了研究：用透射电镜、扫描电镜及解剖镜等技术研究了侧柏、北美香柏、红豆杉、粗榧和白皮松的传粉机制，结果如下。 青扦花粉的发育过程与松科其它一些植物花粉的发育模式相似。从小孢子母细胞到成熟花粉约二十天左右。小孢子母细胞进入减数分裂前彼此分开，但在某些部位仍有连接。细胞质内有大量淀粉粒，在减数分裂过程中减少或消失，没有观察到明显的淀粉粒带。减数分裂中的胞质分裂为同时型，四分体为四面体型。小孢子刚从四分体释放出来时，气囊已开始形成，细胞中含大量淀粉粒。随着小孢子的发育，其体积增大，并出现液泡，细胞核移向一侧。小孢子第一次不对称分裂产生一个大的中央细胞和一个小的原叶细胞。中央细胞不久就进行第二次分裂产生精子器原始细胞和第二原叶细胞。原叶细胞形成后，其与中央细胞或精子器原始细胞之间的壁逐渐沉积胼胝质，以后随着原叶细胞的退化，胼胝质壁消失。精子器原始细胞分裂形成管细胞和生殖细胞，生殖细胞在散粉前分裂形成体细胞（精原细胞）和柄细胞（不育细胞）。成熟花粉为5细胞，但两个原叶细胞已退化消失。 白扦花粉在10%蔗糖+0.01%硼酸的液体培养基内培养12小时后开始萌发。在正常生长的花粉管中，其顶端有一个透明区，而透明区后则含有大量的贮藏物质颗粒。在停止生长的花粉管中透明区消失，而整个花粉管顶端也被储藏物质颗粒充满。正常生长的花粉管顶端有一个较高的Ca2+浓度。在停止生长的花粉管内不具有这样一个Ca2+梯度。 雪松和水杉二种花粉外壁中由孢粉素构成的亚结构单位形态相似，均呈颗粒状，但大小略有不同。雪松的长56-99 nm，宽42-74;水杉的长81-118 nm，宽43-98 nm。在雪松中这些亚单位紧密排列组成短棒状或球状的花粉外壁结构单位，再由几个到十几个这样的结构单位组成较大的岛屿状结构。在这些岛屿状结构之间有大小不一的空隙存在，整个花粉外壁由这样一些岛屿状结构交互连接形成。水杉花粉外壁的亚单位排列也较紧密，且有3-10个成群分布的趋势，但各群之间界限不明显。此外，雪松和水杉的花粉外壁亚单位均无螺旋状排列趋势，这一结果倾向于支持Southworth关于花粉外壁亚单位颗粒状并呈网状排列的观点。 白皮松胚珠倒生，其发育过程与松属的其它种相似，成熟胚珠珠孔端具两手臂状结构，有利于接收花粉。花粉具气囊。传粉期间，没有观察到传粉滴产生，但珠心顶端细胞解体形成花粉室。花粉室内可接受一至几个花粉，花粉在花粉室内的位置无明方向性。传粉时，胚珠处于大孢子线细胞时期。花粉在花粉室内萌发形成花粉管进入珠心组织，花粉管在珠心内生长一段时间后停止生长，并于次年春天重新启动生长。离体生长的花粉管顶端常有胼胝质产生，但顶端区域后的花粉管壁上却无胼胝质沉积。 侧柏、北美香柏、红豆杉和粗榧均为直生胚珠。传粉时胚珠产生传粉滴。在红豆杉胚珠发育早期，珠心表面细胞轮廓清晰;而在后期，其珠心表面则形成了一层膜状结构。这层膜状结构在传粉前随珠心细胞的解体而破裂，珠心细胞的降解产物参与了传粉滴形成。在传粉前和传粉期，珠心细胞内含大量的线粒体、内质网、高尔基体和小泡。传粉滴主要由珠心细胞分泌形成。这四种植物的花粉均无气囊，属可湿性花粉。红豆杉和粗榧的花粉水合时，内壁膨胀，外壁开裂。通常情况下，红豆杉花粉的外壁保留在传粉滴的表面，而花粉的其它部分沉入传粉滴内。侧柏和北美香柏的传粉滴授粉后，花粉进入传粉滴导致传粉滴的明显收缩。在侧柏中传粉滴授粉后100分钟内就完全收缩进入珠孔。传粉滴收缩的速率与所授花粉数量和花粉的种类有关。与侧柏亲缘关系较近植物花粉引起传粉滴的收缩速率和侧柏自身花粉引起的传粉滴收缩速率相似;反之，收缩速率变慢。侧柏传粉滴的收缩可能主要是由于花粉减弱胚珠分泌的结果。但授粉不引起红豆杉和粗榧传粉滴的明显收缩。在红豆杉和粗榧中，从授粉到传粉完全收缩需要20-24小时。这两种植物传粉滴的收缩可能主要是蒸发引起的非代谢性过程，与侧柏和美香柏属于不同的传粉滴收缩机制。

水稻RAD21/REC8家族基因OsRAD21-3的功能研究

有丝分裂和减数分裂包含一系列协同作用的事件，姊妹染色体的黏着是其中非常重要的一个环节。通过对芽殖酵母的研究发现姊妹染色体的黏着是由一个多亚基的蛋白复合体——黏着素介导的，在有丝分裂过程中，黏着素由Scc1（裂殖酵母中为Rad21）、Scc3、Smc1和Smc3四个亚基组成，而在减数分裂中Scc1被其同源蛋白Rec8所取代。通过对其它真核生物包括线虫、果蝇、爪蟾、鼠、人以及拟南芥等进行的研究显示，黏着素介导的姊妹染色体黏着的基本机制在真核生物中具有保守性，但在不同的物种中，其具体的分子机制还存在着差异。开花植物的有性生殖过程包含了一个非常特殊的花粉发育阶段，其间发生了两次花粉的有丝分裂，对其我们还知之甚少。Rad21/Rec8作为黏着素的重要组分，对水稻中它的同源蛋白进行深入研究可以帮助我们对植物有丝分裂和减数分裂的染色体黏着机制有进一步的了解。 我们发现在水稻基因组中存在4个编码Rad21/Rec8家族蛋白的基因，其中OsRAD21-3位于水稻第8号染色体上，其编码的蛋白与其它的Rad21/Rec8家族蛋白一样，具有保守的N-和C-末端结构域。序列比对和进化分析的结果表明OsRad21-3蛋白属于Rad21亚家族，而免疫荧光定位分析显示OsRad21-3可以特异地定位于有丝分裂的染色体上，由此说明OsRAD21-3应当是酵母RAD21的直系同源基因。对OsRAD21-3进行半定量RT-PCR，Western杂交以及原位杂交的结果显示它在生殖器官花中优势表达，在营养器官中也能检测到表达。在花中它在从雌雄蕊形成期到成熟花粉期都有表达，其表达的位置主要位于减数分裂时期的小孢子母细胞以及减数分裂后的小孢子和花粉中。在水稻四个RAD21/REC8基因中，OsRAD21-3是唯一一个在花粉发育过程中表达的基因，说明它可能在减数分裂后的雄配子体发育过程中发挥了功能。 采用RNAi手段对OsRAD21-3的功能进行研究发现OsRAD21-3 RNAi转基因水稻植株的育性显著下降，进一步的分析表明其花粉活性受到严重影响。对OsRAD21-3i株系的雄性减数分裂过程及减数分裂后的小孢子和花粉发育过程进行观察发现，减数分裂过程中有少量细胞存在染色体的异常行为，但总体上没有对雄性减数分裂造成严重影响，而减数分裂后的小孢子和花粉发育过程则出现了显著异常，表现为花粉有丝分裂的停滞或有丝分裂染色体分离的扰乱，因此，OsRAD21-3应当主要是通过在花粉的有丝分裂过程中发挥功能而参与减数分裂后的雄配子体发育过程，而它在雄性减数分裂过程中可能也有一定作用。 利用原位杂交技术分析了水稻另外三个RAD21/REC8基因的表达特性，结果表明OsRAD21-1、OsRAD21-2和OsRAD21-4都在减数分裂前及减数分裂期的小孢子母细胞中表达，但在减数分裂后较晚时期的小孢子中则没有检测到表达。OsRAD21-4在小孢子母细胞中的表达为其参与减数分裂过程染色体的黏着提供了证据，而OsRAD21-1和OsRAD21-2在此过程中的功能还有待进一步研究。此外，OsRAD21-1和OsRAD21-2还在营养器官有丝分裂旺盛的区域表达，OsRAD21-1作为RAD21的同源基因可能与OsRAD21-3在参与有丝分裂染色体黏着方面存在功能上的冗余性，但OsRAD21-3参与花粉的发育过程则是其所特有的，这可能也在一定程度上说明了为什么水稻中会存在4个RAD21/REC8基因，并帮助我们更好地了解了它们在功能上的分化。