重楼属花粉形态的研究

本文对重楼属(paris L.)18个种和变种或变型的花粉形态进行了光学显微镜和电镜的观察和初步比较研究。就所观察过的种类看,花粉粒为扁球形,极面观椭圆形。左右对称。具一远极沟。外壁两层,外层厚于或等于内层。外壁纹饰有穴状、网状和皱-网状之分。不同的种类,其花粉大小和外壁纹饰均或多或少有所不同,其中有些种类的外壁纹饰比较特殊,可以作为区分种类甚至作为分组的依据或参考。     

Pollen-ovule patterns in tribeTrifolieae (Leguminosae)

Relative pollen and ovule production in the genera of the legume tribeTrifolieae is explored particularly as to howMedicago with its explosive pollination mechanism compares with its allies.Medicago produces much larger, although much fewer pollen per ovule than the other five genera in the tribe; this is interpreted as a consequence of its highly specialized, irreversible pollination mechanism, which allows only one effective exchange of pollen with pollinators.Melilotus andTrifolium produce a comparatively large quantity of pollen; this can be related to their floral characteristics requiring abundant pollen to achieve fertilization. InMedicago andTrigonella, annuals convert a higher proportion of pollen grains and ovules into seeds than perennials.     

Isolation of generative cells and their protoplasts from pollen ofLilium longiflorum

Summary Methods are described for the isolation of large quantities of generative cells and their protoplasts from the pollen ofLilium longiflorum. First, large numbers of pollen protoplasts were enzymatically isolated from immature pollen grains. When they were gently disrupted mechanically, the pollen contents including spindle-shaped generative cells were released. The generative cells were separated from other structures by Percoll density gradient centrifugation. They were nearly spherical, but had a callosic cell wall. The isolated generative cells were then re-treated in enzyme solution to yield authentic protoplasts. The generative cell protoplasts, gametoplasts, were uniform in size and contained a condensed haploid nucleus with relatively little cytoplasm.     

Development of microsporesin vivo andin vitro inBrassica napus L.

Summary Populations of highly homogeneous uninucleate and binucleate microspores ofBrassica napus cv. Topas were obtained by bud selection and percoll fractionation. The development of the uninucleate and the binucleate microspores in culture was compared to thosein vivo using the fluorochrome DAPI to stain DNA. The major developmental pathway of the uninucleate microsporesin vitro resulted in embryo formation. The characteristic of this pathway was that the first division produced two diffusely stained nuclei and subsequent divisions gave rise to a multinucleate embryoid. The second pathway which occurred in a small number of the uninucleate microspores led to callus formation. The majority of the binucleate microsporesin vitro followed the developmental pattern of their counterpartsin vivo and were not embryogenic. The embryogenic binucleate microspores produced embryos through the divisions of the vegetative nucleus.Plant Research Centre Contribution # 1147     

Microtubule organization in the sperm ofTradescantia virginiana

Summary Microtubules were visualized in the sperm ofTradescantia virginiana pollen tubes grownin vitro and processed for antitubulin immunocytochemistry. The sperm contain thick microtubule bundles from which emerge numerous branches of various dimensions disposed longitudinally and helically along the cell axis. Sperm are usually spindle or cigar-shaped, but cells of various sizes and shapes can be found. All contain microtubule arrays. No F-actin was detected in sperm using rhodamine-phalloidin staining. Sperm microtubules are discussed in terms of their potential roles in cell shaping and motility and their origin during generative cell division.Abbreviations DAPI 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole - IgG immunoglobulin G - M+W Mascarenhas and Walker medium - Mf microfilament - Mt microtubule - PBA phosphate-buffered saline     

Cytoplasmic male sterility in Petunia hybrida: factors affecting mitochondrial ATP export in normal and cytoplasmically male sterile plants

Summary In view of accumulating evidence that cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) in some species results from an inability to generate the high ATP/ADP ratios required for specific stages of differentiation in the reproductive cycle, a number of aspects of ATP metabolism are being examined in CMS and male fertile plants.In experiments designed to test mitochondrial efficiency in ATP export, organelles from CMS plants performed very poorly when compared with normal lines. It is proposed that although most of the molecules involved in mitochondrial ATP production are nuclear encoded, the lesions in mitochondrial (mt)DNA known to accompany the CMS phenotype may be expressed as small modifications within the architecture of the mitochondrial membrane. To detect whether such changes could affect the ADP-ATP translocator in the membrane, two sets of experiments were carried out to determine a Km for the translocator. The two methods employed were based on different precepts, but nevertheless indicated a Km for the mitochondrial translocator in CMS lines which differed dramatically from that of male fertile plants. The view that CMS in Petunia hybrida thus might result from small differences in mtDNA encoded membrane proteins is considered in the light of the cytological changes seen to accompany CMS in these plants, as well as in the context of current theories advanced to explain CMS in other species.     

Correlations between gametophytic (pollen) and sporophytic (seed) generations for polyunsaturated fatty acids in oilseed rape Brassica napus L.

Summary Lipids were extracted from the diploid seed and haploid pollen of Brassica napus L. Two fractions of pollen lipids, namely the diploid-specified pollen-coat and the haploid-specified internal cytoplasmic lipids were obtained. Significant correlations exist between pollen and seed generations for linoleic (182) and linolenic (183) acids. In pollen internal storage lipids, the level of 183 is positively correlated and the level of 182 is negatively correlated with the level of 183 in seed lipids. Evidence is presented that strongly supports the hypothesis that lipid biosynthesis occurs within the pollen and that synthesis is specified by haploid genes. These data support the concept of pollen selection, so that selecting among living pollen grains for superior individuals has potential as a new plant breeding tool for improving seed oil quality.     

Ultrastructural research on cell wall regeneration by cultured pollen protoplasts of Lilium longiflorum

Summary Protoplasts from pollen grains of Lilium longiflorum regenerate amorphous cellulosic cell walls in culture, during which some precursors of cellulose are polymerized, thus producing progressively harder cellulosic cell walls as the period of culture continues. It is presumed that the components of the cell wall regenerated during 1 week in culture differ from those of the intine of the pollen grain wall. The regenerated cell wall is formed by means of large smooth vesicles; in addition, numerous coated vesicles and pits aid in wall regeneration. The pollen tube that germinates from the 8-day-old cultured protoplast has numerous Golgi bodies and many vesicles which build the pollen tube wall. The tube wall has two layers just like a normal pollen tube wall.     

An analysis of the role of actin during pollen activation leading to germination in pear (Pyrus communis L.): treatment with cytochalasin D

Summary Major stages of actin organization during activation leading to germination of pear (Pyrus communis L.) pollen were disrupted by treatment with 5 g/ml cytochalasin D (CD), and the effects of the drug were monitored with rhodamine-phalloidin staining. CD induced the formation of granules or short rods in the place of the filamentous arrays that occur in normally developing pollen. Filamentous arrays, however, returned upon removal of CD. Pollen incubated directly in CD showed a gradual disappearance of circular actin profiles and their replacement by either granules or, less frequently, short rods. These granules and rods initially had a random distribution in the cell, but with time in CD they became localized at one of the three germination apertures. Pollen was also allowed to reach three stages of microfilament (MF) organization (initial fibrillar arrays, interapertural MFs, and MFs confined beneath a single aperture) prior to being continously exposed to CD. After CD treatment, germination was blocked and the number of cells containing short rods increased, but movement of actin to a single aperture continued. Finally, when pollen at different stages of MF organization was treated with a CD pulse and then transferred to drug-free medium, germination was delayed regardless of the stage of MF organization at the time of treatment. The results indicate that an uninterrupted progression of actin organization is essential for pollen germination, but that movement of actin in the cell is CD-insensitive.     

Analysis of protein synthesis in morphologically classified bovine follicular oocytes before and after maturation in vitro

Bovine cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) were isolated from antral ovarian follicles (4-8 mm). Immature COCs were classified into four categories, based on the homogeneity and clearness of the ooplasm and the transparency and compactness of the cumulus investment. In this study, the incorporation of TCA-precipitable 35S-methionine and the protein synthesis patterns of oocytes of these four categories were examined. Before maturation in vitro, similar incorporation rates and identical protein synthesis patterns were observed between oocytes of categories 1-3. Immature oocytes of category 4 showed reduced incorporation rates and exhibited aberrant protein synthesis patterns. After maturation in vitro, the patterns of category 4 oocytes were identical with the patterns of those in categories 1-3. The incorporation of 35S-methionine into in vitro matured oocytes was lower (P less than .001) in all categories. Based on these results, it is concluded that the initial classification of oocytes into four categories can be reduced to two categories.