Comparative structure of the pollen in species of Passiflora: insights from the pollen wall and cytoplasm contents

Pollen grains of three Brazilian species of Passiflora (P. elegans, P. suberosa and P. haematostigma) belonging to different subgenera were studied with respect to the wall and cytoplasm. New data were obtained on pollen wall histochemistry, cytoplasm contents and organelle inheritance. The structure of the pollen wall layers differed in all the species; P. elegans shares characters with those found in other species from the same subgenus. The exine foot layer is structured and evident only in P. haematostigma and is not structured in P. elegans. The pollen grains have pollenkitt with lipid components. The cytoplasm of the vegetative cell contains dissolved and non-dissolved polysaccharides. The generative cell contains plastids and mitochondria in all the species analyzed, and consequently has the potential for paternal or biparental extranuclear inheritance. Aspects of the evolution of the characters of the species are discussed in the light of a recent phylogeny of the group, with a focus on the three subgenera.