Regulation of β-1,3-glucanase activity in developing anthers of Lilium

Lilium microsporocytes have specialized walls consisting of callose, presumably a polymer of β-1,3-glucose. At the termination of meiosis, the walls undergo sudden and rapid dissolution resulting in the liberation of young microspores. This event is correlated with a sharp peak in activity of β-1,3-glucanase. The activity is localized in the somatic region of the anther with less than 7.3% of the total activity associated with the microsporocytes at any time during meiosis. Thus β-1,3-glucanase appears to be an enzyme necessary to the development of meiotic cells but whose action is mediated by the surrounding somatic tissue rather than by the meiotic cells themselves.