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- Title
POLLEN GRAIN DIAMETER: IN VITRO POLLEN GERMINATION AND REGRESSION BETWEEN GRAIN DIAMETER AND IN VITRO POLLEN GERMINATION IN PICKERELWEED (PONTEDERIA CORDATA L.).
- Authors
Gettys, Lyn A.
- Abstract
Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata L.) is a tristylous species that utilizes heteromorphic incompatibility to reduce or prevent self-pollination. Three distinct floral morphs are produced by tristylous species, but each plant always produces flowers of the same morph. Previous reports have suggested that pollen produced by the three sets of anthers in pickerelweed differed from one another in grain diameter and in the length of pollen tubes generated during in vivo germination. A correlation has also been described between these variables, which suggests that pollen storage reserves play a role in compatibility of some combinations. The objective of this experiment was to verify previously reported grain diameter data and to determine whether in vitro pollen tube growth is influenced by grain diameter. Analysis of pollen from 12 plants (four each of Smorph, M-morph and L-morph) revealed that diameters of pollen grains produced by anthers borne by the three filament lengths of pickerelweed were significantly different from one another. Diameters of grains of s-pollen averaged 20.46 ±0.34 mm, while mean diameters of m-pollen and l-pollen measured 35.04 ±0.49 mm and 44.97 ±0.34 mm, respectively. No overlap in grain diameter occurred among the three classes of pollen. Pollen tubes produced in vitro by l-pollen and m-pollen averaged 486.43 mm and 431.14 mm in length, respectively, 240 min after germination, while pollen tubes from s-pollen attained an average length of 265.57μ mm. Previous reports suggested that pollen tube lengths produced in vivo by the three pollen diameter classes were significantly different from one another; however, I found no difference between lengths of pollen tubes from lpollen and m-pollen produced during in vitro germination. The reason for these conflicting results is unknown but it is possible that other factors influence in vivo germination. A significant positive regression between pollen grain diameter and in vitro pollen tube length was identified; these results are similar to those described by other workers for in vivo pollen germination and suggest that pollen grain diameter has a positive influence on the length of pollen tubes produced during in vitro germination. This research provides evidence that pollen grain size and tube length may contribute to self-incompatibility in some, but not all, morph interactions in pickerelweed.
- Subjects
FLORAL morphology; PICKERELWEED; GERMINATION; POLLEN tube; PLANT self-incompatibility; SELF-pollination
- Publication
Environmental Research Journal, 2013, Vol 7, Issue 3, p297
- ISSN
1935-3049
- Publication type
Article