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In vitro assays demonstrate that pollen tube organelles use kinesin-related motor proteins to move along microtubules.

The movement of pollen tube organelles relies on cytoskeletal elements. Although the movement of organelles along actin filaments in the pollen tube has been studied widely and is becoming progressively clear, it remains unclear what role microtubules play. Many uncertainties about the role of microtubules in the active transport of pollen tube organelles and/or in the control of this process remain to be resolved. In an effort to determine if organelles are capable of moving along microtubules in the absence of actin, we extracted organelles from tobacco pollen tubes and analyzed their ability to move along in vitro-polymerized microtubules under different experimental conditions. Regardless of their size, the organelles moved at different rates along microtubules in the presence of ATP. Cytochalasin D did not inhibit organelle movement, indicating that actin filaments are not required for organelle transport in our assay. The movement of organelles was cytosol independent, which suggests that soluble factors are not necessary for the organelle movement to occur and that microtubule-based motor proteins are present on the organelle surface. By washing organelles with KI, it was possible to release proteins capable of gliding carboxylated beads along microtubules. Several membrane fractions, which were separated by Suc density gradient centrifugation, showed microtubule-based movement. Proteins were extracted by KI treatment from the most active organelle fraction and then analyzed with an ATP-sensitive microtubule binding assay. Proteins isolated by the selective binding to microtubules were tested for the ability to glide microtubules in the in vitro motility assay, for the presence of microtubule-stimulated ATPase activity, and for cross-reactivity with anti-kinesin antibodies. We identified and characterized a 105-kD organelle-associated motor protein that is functionally, biochemically, and immunologically related to kinesin. This work provides clear evidence that the movement of pollen tube organelles is not just actin based; rather, they show a microtubule-based motion as well. This unexpected finding suggests new insights into the use of pollen tube microtubules, which could be used for short-range transport, as actin filaments are in animal cells.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Extensin-like Glycoproteins in the Maize Pollen Tube Wall.

We recently described the cloning and characterization of Pex1, a maize pollen-specific gene with an extensin-like domain. Here, we report that antibodies raised against a Pex fusion protein and a Pex synthetic peptide recognize a protein doublet with an apparent molecular mass of ~300 kD as well as larger proteins in pollen extracts. These proteins were not detected in extracts of seedling, endosperm, ear, silk, root, leaf, wounded leaf, meiotic tassel, or young microspore. After deglycosylation, only the protein doublet was detected by the anti-Pex antiserum, suggesting that the higher molecular mass proteins represent a glycosylated form of the Pex proteins. The anti-Pex antiserum was also used in immunolocalization experiments with in vitro-germinated pollen. With the aid of a confocal light microscope, the Pex proteins were localized to the pollen tube wall. The Pex proteins could not be removed with high salt, SDS, or chaotropic or reducing agents, suggesting a very tight association with the pollen tube wall. Immunocytochemical analysis at the ultrastructural level localized the Pex proteins to the intine in mature pollen and to the callosic sheath of the pollen tube wall in germinated pollen. Localization to the pollen tube wall strongly suggests that the Pex proteins play a role in pollen tube growth during pollination.

Journal Article↗

A pollen tube growth-promoting arabinogalactan protein from nicotiana alata is similar to the tobacco TTS protein.

Upon germination on the stigma, pollen tubes elongate in the stylar transmitting tract, aided by female factors, with speed and directionality not mimicked in in vitro pollen tube growth cultures. We have shown that a stylar transmitting tissue arabinogalactan protein (AGP) from Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco), TTS protein, stimulates pollen tube growth in vivo and in vitro and attracts pollen tubes grown in a semi-in vivo culture system. It has been reported that the self-incompatible Nicotiana alata produced a stylar glycoprotein, GaRSGP, which had a backbone polypeptide that shared 97% identity with those of TTS proteins but some of its properties were different from those described for TTS proteins. We report here the characterization of a family of stylar transmitting tissue glycoproteins from N. alata that is virtually identical to tobacco TTS proteins and which we refer to as NaTTS proteins. Like their tobacco counterparts, NaTTS proteins are recognized by the traditional AGP-diagnostic reagent beta-glucosyl Yariv reagent, and they are also recognized by JIM13, a monoclonal antibody against AGP. NaTTS proteins also stimulate pollen tube elongation in vitro and attract pollen tubes in a semi-in vivo pollen tube culture system. Biochemical and immunological characterization of NaTTS proteins revealed that they have extraordinary variability in the extent of sugar modifications of their polypeptide backbones. The extent of sugar modifications on NaTTS proteins significantly affects their biochemical properties, influences how they interact with the transmitting tissue extracellular matrix, and affects their solubility from this matrix. Our results suggest that the strategy used to purify GaRSGP only recovered a less glycosylated, more tightly extracellular matrix-bound sub-population of the entire spectrum of N. alata TTS proteins.

Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional↗

Fast pollen tube growth in Conospermum species.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: An unusual form of pollen tube growth was observed for several Conospermum species (family Proteaceae). The rate of pollen tube growth, the number of tubes to emerge and the ultrastructure of these tubes are given here. METHODS: Pollen was germinated in vitro in different sucrose concentrations and in the presence of calcium channel blockers, and tube emergence and growth were recorded on a VCR. Measurements were taken of the number of tubes to emerge and rate of tube emergence. Pollen behaviour in vivo was also observed. The ultrastructure of germinated and ungerminated pollen was observed using TEM. RESULTS: After 10 s to 3 min in germination medium, up to three pollen tubes emerged and grew at rates of up to 55 micro m s(-1); the rate then slowed to around 2 micro m s(-1), 30 s after the initial growth spurt. Tubes were observed to grow in pulses, and the pulsed growth continued in the presence of calcium channel blockers. Optimal sugar concentration for pollen germination was 300 g L(-1), in which up to 81 % of pollen grains showed fast germination. Germination and emergence of multiple tubes were observed in sucrose concentrations of 100-800 g L(-1). The vegetative and generative nuclei moved into one of the tubes. Multiple tubes from a single grain were observed on the stigma. Under light microscopy, the cytoplasm in the tube showed a clear region at the tip. The ultrastructure of C. amoenum pollen showed a bilayered exine, with the intine being very thick at the pores, and elsewhere having large intrusions into the plasma membrane. The cytoplasm was dense with vesicles packed with inner tube cell wall material. Golgi apparatus producing secretory vesicles, and mitochondria were found throughout the tube. The tube wall was bilayered; both layers being fibrous and loosely packed. CONCLUSIONS: It is proposed that, for Conospermum, initial pollen tube wall constituents are manufactured and stored prior to pollen germination, and that tube extension occurs as described in the literature for other species, but at an exceptionally fast rate.

Biological Transport↗

Pollen tube localization implies a role in pollen-pistil interactions for the tomato receptor-like protein kinases LePRK1 and LePRK2.

We screened for pollen-specific kinase genes, which are potential signal transduction components of pollen-pistil interactions, and isolated two structurally related receptor-like kinases (RLKs) from tomato, LePRK1 and LePRK2. These kinases are similar to a pollen-expressed RLK from petunia, but they are expressed later during pollen development than is the petunia RLK. The abundance of LePRK2 increases when pollen germinates, but LePRK1 remains constant. Both LePRK1 and LePRK2 are localized to the plasma membrane/cell wall of growing pollen tubes. Both kinase domains have kinase activity when expressed in Escherichia coli. In phosphorylation assays with pollen membrane preparations, LePRK2, but not LePRK1, is phosphorylated, and the addition of tomato style, but not leaf, extracts to these membrane preparations results at least partially in specific dephosphorylation of LePRK2. Taken together, these results suggest that LePRK1 and LePRK2 play different roles in postpollination events and that at least LePRK2 may mediate some pistil response.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Arabinogalactan proteins, pollen tube growth, and the reversible effects of Yariv phenylglycoside.

Arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) are abundant complex macromolecules involved in both reproductive and vegetative plant growth. They are secreted at pollen tube tips in Lilium longiflorum. Here, we report the effect of the (beta-D-glucosyl)3 Yariv phenylglycoside, known to interact with AGPs, on pollen tube extension in several plant species. In Annona cherimola the Yariv reagent clearly inhibited pollen tube extension within 1-2 h of treatment, as demonstrated previously for L. longiflorum, but had no effect on Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium, Aquilegia eximia, and Nicotiana tabacum. With the monoclonal antibody JIM13 we also examined these same species for evidence that they secreted AGPs at their pollen tube tips. Only A. cherimola showed evidence of AGPs at the pollen tube tip as does lily. The Yariv reagent causes arrest of tube growth in both A. cherimola and lily, but its removal from the medium allows regeneration of new tip growth in both species. We show that the site of the new emerging tip in lily can be predicted by localization of AGP secretion. Labeling with JIM13 appeared on the flanks of the arrested tip 1 h after removal of the Yariv reagent from the growth medium. After 4 h, many of the Yariv reagent-treated pollen tubes had regenerated new pollen tubes with the tips brightly labeled by JIM13 and with a collar of AGPs left at the emergence site. During this recovery, esterified pectins colocalized with AGPs. Secretion at the site of the new tip may be important in the initial polarization event that occurs on the flanks of the arrested tube tip and results in a new pollen tube.

Glucosides↗

Pollen tubes of Nicotiana alata express two genes from different beta-glucan synthase families.

The walls deposited by growing pollen tubes contain two types of beta-glucan, the (1,3)-beta-glucan callose and the (1,4)-beta-glucan cellulose, as well as various alpha-linked pectic polysaccharides. Pollen tubes of Nicotiana alata Link et Otto, an ornamental tobacco, were therefore used to identify genes potentially encoding catalytic subunits of the callose synthase and cellulose synthase enzymes. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR) with pollen-tube RNA and primers designed to conserved regions of bacterial and plant cellulose synthase (CesA) genes amplified a fragment that corresponded to an abundantly expressed cellulose-synthase-like gene named NaCslD1. A fragment from a true CesA gene (NaCesA1) was also amplified, but corresponding cDNAs could not be identified in a pollen-tube library, consistent with the very low level of expression of the NaCesA1 gene. RT-PCR with pollen-tube RNA and primers designed to regions conserved between the fungal FKS genes [that encode (1,3)-beta-glucan synthases] and their presumed plant homologs (the Gsl or glucan-synthase-like genes) amplified a fragment that corresponded to an abundantly expressed gene named NaGsl1. A second Gsl gene detected by RT-PCR (NaGsl2) was expressed at low levels in immature floral organs. The structure of full-length cDNAs of NaCslD1, NaCesA1, and NaGsl1 are presented. Both NaCslD1 and NaGsl1 are predominantly expressed in the male gametophyte (developing and mature pollen and growing pollen tubes), and we propose that they encode the catalytic subunits of two beta-glucan synthases involved in pollen-tube wall synthesis. Different beta-glucans deposited in one cell type may therefore be synthesized by enzymes from different gene families.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Mode of pollen-tube growth in Pistils of Myrica rubra (Myricaceae): a comparison with related families.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: It is generally known that fertilization is delayed for more than a few weeks after pollination in Fagales. Recent studies showed that, during that period, pollen tubes grew in pistils in close association with the development of the ovule in a five-step process in Casuarina (Casuarinaceae) and a four-step process in Alnus (Betulaceae). The number of pollen tubes was reduced from many to one, a fact suggesting that delayed fertilization plays a role for gametophyte selection. Myrica (Myricaceae) also shows delayed fertilization for >2 weeks after pollination, but nothing is known of how pollen tubes grow in the pistil during that period. METHODS: Pollen-tube growth and the development of the ovule in pistils was investigated by fluorescent and scanning electron microscopy and analysis of microtome sections of the pistils. KEY RESULTS: Developmental study of the pollen-tube growth in the pistil of M. rubra showed that the tip of the pollen tube was branched or lay in a zigzag pattern in the upper space of the ovarian locule or near the tip of the integument, and subsequently was swollen on the nucellar surface. Such morphological changes indicate that the pollen-tube growth was temporarily arrested before fertilization. The pollen-tube growth in M. rubra can therefore be summarized as occurring in three steps: (1) from the stigma to the ovarian locule; (2) from the ovarian locule to the nucellar surface; and (3) from the nucellar surface to the embryo sac. CONCLUSION: Myrica differs from other families in that the pollen tubes arrest their growth on the nucellar surface, probably digesting nutrient from nucellar cells. There is little information on five other families of Fagales. An extensive study is needed to better understand the diversity and function of the mode of pollen-tube growth within the order.

Betulaceae↗

A cytoplasmic gradient of Ca2+ is correlated with the growth of lily pollen tubes.

We have measured the distribution of cytoplasmic calcium in lily pollen tubes by microinjecting them with indo-1 and performing fluorescence ratio image analysis on them. All of the 16 tubes that were growing at the time of the calcium measurements showed a gradient of [Ca2+]i in the tip region, with Ca2+ being 1.25 to 3.32 times higher at the distal end in 15 cases and more than 5 times higher in one case. The extent of the gradient ranged from 22 to 65 microns. Most of the 15 nongrowing tubes either had no gradient or had lower Ca2+ in the tip region. While we have confirmed a previous report that lily pollen tubes can be loaded with the membrane-permeable acetoxymethyl ester forms of calcium indicators, the dyes loaded in this way are visibly partitioned into organelles and this method of loading is, therefore, not useful for the measurement of [Ca2+]i. Iontophoresis of the dye free acids into tubes produces a more uniform and diffuse fluorescence which does not appear to partition into organelles. Indo-1 remains in the pollen tubes longer than fura-2. The correlation between growth and the [Ca2+]i gradient in the apical portion of the pollen tube is discussed in relation to previous reports that have suggested that such a gradient should exist during polarized growth.

Calcium↗

Micropylar pollen tube guidance by egg apparatus 1 of maize.

Pollen tube guidance precedes the double fertilization of flowering plants. Here, we report the identification of a small maize protein of 94 amino acids involved in short-range signaling required for pollen tube attraction by the female gametophyte. ZmEA1 is exclusively expressed in the egg apparatus, consisting of the egg cell and two synergids. Chimeric ZmEA1 fused to green fluorescent protein (ZmEA1:GFP) was first visible within the filiform apparatus and later was localized to nucellar cell walls below the micropylar opening of the ovule. Transgenic down-regulation of the ZmEA1 gene led to ovule sterility caused by loss of close-range pollen tube guidance to the micropyle.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Fluorescence microscopic localization of actin in pollen tubes: comparison of actin antibody and phalloidin staining.

A comparison of actin localization in pollen tubes of Nicotiana has been made using a monoclonal actin antibody and rhodamine-phalloidin (RP). The monoclonal antiactin, based on Western blotting of pollen tube extract, labels a polypeptide at 45 kD that comigrates with muscle actin. A 51-kD unknown protein and three bands less than 45 kD, presumed to be proteolytic fragments of actin, are also observed. Structural observations using this antibody reveal a network of axially oriented strands of microfilaments (MFs). The MFs are distributed throughout the length of the pollen tube except at the very tip, where diffuse staining is usually observed. A similar pattern of MFs is evident after RP staining. When pollen tubes are treated with cytochalasins (CB or CD) cytoplasmic streaming is inhibited, as is tube elongation. Microscopic analysis reveals that the microfilament (MF) pattern is markedly altered; however, the antibody and RP produce different staining patterns. The antibody reveals many MF strands that distribute throughout the tube length and extend into the very tip. In contrast, RP shows mostly a diffuse staining pattern with only a few short clumps of filamentous material. Immunogold labelling of sections of pollen tubes prepared by rapid-freeze fixation and freeze substitution reveals that actin MF bundles are indeed present after cytochalasin treatment. Our results thus question reports in the literature, based on phalloidin staining, asserting that cytochalasin fragments or destroys actin MFs.

Actins↗

A lily stylar pectin is necessary for pollen tube adhesion to an in vitro stylar matrix.

Pollen tube cells adhere to the wall surface of the stylar transmitting tract epidermis in lily. This adhesion has been proposed as essential for the proper delivery of the sperm cells to the ovule. An in vitro adhesion bioassay has been used to isolate two stylar molecules required for lily pollen tube adhesion. The first molecule was determined to be a small, cysteine-rich protein with some sequence similarity to lipid transfer proteins and now called stigma/stylar cysteine-rich adhesin (SCA). The second, larger, molecule has now been purified from style fragments and characterized. Chemical composition, specific enzyme degradations, and immunolabeling data support the idea that this molecule required for pollen tube adhesion is a pectic polysaccharide. In vitro binding assays revealed that this lily stylar adhesive pectin and SCA are able to bind to each other in a pH-dependent manner.

Dose-Response Relationship, Drug↗

Pollen tube development and competitive ability are impaired by disruption of a Shaker K(+) channel in Arabidopsis.

Sexual reproduction in plants requires elongation of the pollen tube through the transmitting tissues toward the ovary. Tube growth rate is a major determinant of pollen competitive ability. We report that a K(+) channel of the Shaker family in Arabidopsis, SPIK, plays an important role in pollen tube development. SPIK was found to be specifically expressed in pollen. When SPIK was heterologously expressed in COS cells, its product formed hyperpolarization-activated K(+) channels. Disruption (T-DNA insertion) of the SPIK coding sequence strongly affected inwardly rectifying K(+)-channel activity in the pollen-grain plasma membrane. Measurements of membrane potential in growing pollen tubes yielded data compatible with a contribution of SPIK to K(+) influx. In vitro pollen germination assays were performed, revealing that the disruption results in impaired pollen tube growth. Analysis of the transmission rate of the disrupted allele in the progeny of heterozygous plants revealed a decrease in pollen competitive ability, the probability of fertilization by mutant pollen being approximately 1.6 times lower than that by wild-type pollen. The whole set of data supports the hypothesis that functional expression of SPIK plays a role in K(+) uptake in the growing pollen tube, and thereby in tube development and pollen competitive ability.

Animals↗

Do pollen donors with fastest-growing pollen tubes sire the best offspring in an anemophilous tree, Betula pendula (Betulaceae)?

The relationship between pollen and progeny performance has been a subject of many studies but the evidence for pollen-tube growth rate as an indicator of progeny fitness is equivocal. We used an anemophilous tree, Betula pendula, to examine the relationship between pollen-tube growth rate and seed and seedling performance. We crossed nine maternal plants with pollen from six pollen donors in a clonal B. pendula seed orchard, measured the pollen-tube growth rates for every cross, and analyzed the performance of the resulting seeds and seedlings. The only significant positive correlation was found between pollen-tube growth rate and seed mass when we controlled for seed number per inflorescence. Using seed mass as a covariate, we found that only maternal parent had a significant effect on the number of seeds per inflorescence, the percentage of germinable and embryonic seeds, and early seedling growth. Both maternal and paternal parents had significant effects on seedling height after 85 d of growth. These results are in concordance with the general view that maternal effects are usually most apparent in seed characters and during early plant growth. This study does not provide strong evidence for the theory of pollen-tube growth rate as an indicator of progeny quality.

Journal Article↗

Pollen tubes enter neighbouring ovules by way of receptacle tissue, resulting in increased fruit-set in Sagittaria potamogetifolia Merr.

Using fluorescence microscopy, deposition of pollen on stigmas and pollen tube growth in the gynoecium of Sagittaria potamogetifolia Merr., a monoecious species with an apocarpous gynoecium, were observed. The maximum rate of pollination averaged 83.9 +/- 4.7 %, and the number of pollen grains per stigma ranged from zero to 30. Pollen tubes grew through one stigma to the base of the ovary at almost the same speed, but generally only one of the pollen tubes then turned towards the ovule and finally entered the nucellus through the micropyle. The other pollen tubes grew through the ovary base and the receptacle tissue into ovules of adjacent carpels whose stigmas were not pollinated or which had been pollinated later. This phenomenon is termed pollen tube 'reallocation' by the authors. To verify the direct effect of the phenomenon on fruit set, artificial pollination experiments were conducted in which two or more pollen grains were placed onto only one stigma in each gynoecium; frequently more than one fruitlet was obtained from each flower treated. The reallocation of pollen tubes among pistils in the gynoecium could effect fertilization of ovules of unpollinated pistils and lead to an increase in sexual reproduction efficiency. It would, to some extent, also increase pollen tube competition among pistils of the whole gynoecium.

Fertilization↗

Pollen tube Growth and Self-Incompatibility in Heuchera micrantha var. diversifolia (Saxifragaceae).

A crossing study and an analysis of pollen tube growth were conducted in diploid and autotetraploid Heuchera micrantha var. diversifolia to distinguish between the possible mechanisms that could promote the high outcrossing rates observed and that could also result in the absence of fruit set following self-fertilization. The crossing study indicated that no fruit set occurred after self-pollination, whereas fruit set occurred in all of the hand-pollinated outcrosses. After 4 d, the self-pollinated flowers shriveled and abscised. Pollen tube growth following hand pollination was assessed in selfed and outcrossed flowers using fluorescence microscopy. The self-pollinated flowers exhibited far fewer pollen tubes than did the outcrossed flowers. Furthermore, in self-pollinated flowers, some of the pollen tubes extended into the style; fewer than one-half of the pollen tubes reached the base of the style and still fewer reached the ovules. The variable length of pollen tube growth, the uniform timing of floral abortion after self-pollination, and the absence of variability among individuals in the level of fruit set following self-pollination are all consistent with a system that lies somewhere between classic gametophytic self-incompatibility and late-acting self-incompatibility as the mechanism that is most likely operating in H. micrantha var. diversifolia. A similar "nonstandard" system may be present in other Saxifragaceae, such as Tolmiea and Lithophragma, as well as in Ribes, the sister group of Saxifragaceae. Our data also indicate that ploidal level (diploid vs. autotetraploid) has no influence on the extent or mechanism of self-incompatibiltiy in autopolyploid H. micrantha var. diversifolia.

Journal Article↗

Pollen-tube growth pattern and chalazogamy in Casuarina equisetifolia (Casuarinaceae).

For a better understanding of pollen-tube guidance in relation to pollen-pistil interaction, we investigated the mode of pollen-tube growth in pistils of Casuarina equisetifolia, a monoecious, wind-pollinated species that undergoes chalazogamous fertilization. The pistil is bicarpellate, but only one of the two carpels develops with two ovules. One of these ovules develops more than four embryo sacs. Pistils usually require more than 1 month to reach maturity after pollen grains have been deposited on the stigmas. During that period, pollen-tube growth proceeds discontinuously in five distinct steps that lead up to fertilization: (1) from the stigma to the upper region of the style, (2) from the upper region of the style to a septum in the ovary, (3) from the septum to the surface of the funiculus, (4) from the funiculus to chalaza in the ovule, and (5) from the chalaza to an egg apparatus. Probably because of competitive interaction between male and female gametophytes (or ovules), one pollen tube is selected from among many during the first step (just before the second step), one ovule from the two during the second and third steps, and one embryo sac from more than four during the fourth and fifth steps. On the basis of our results, erroneous drawings and explanations reported in earlier publications on chalazogamy in Casuarinaceae should be brought into question.

Fertilization↗

Genetic Evidence for a Long-Range Activity That Directs Pollen Tube Guidance in Arabidopsis.

The fertilization process of plants is governed by different kinds of cell-cell interactions. In higher plants, these interactions are required both for recognition of the pollen grain by the female reproductive system and to direct the growth of the pollen tube inside the ovary. Despite many years of study, the signaling mechanisms that guide the pollen tube toward its target, the ovule, are largely unknown. Two distinct types of principles, mechanical and chemotropic, have been suggested to account for the directed growth of the pollen tube. The first of these two types of models implies that the guidance of the pollen tube depends on the architecture and chemical properties of the female reproductive tissues, whereas the latter suggests that the ovule provides a signal for the target-directed growth of the pollen tube. To examine such a role for the ovules, we analyzed the growth path of pollen tubes in mutants defective in ovule development in Arabidopsis. The results presented here provide unique in vivo evidence for an ovule-derived, long-range activity controlling pollen tube guidance. A morphological comparison of the ovule mutants used in this study indicates that within the ovule, the haploid embryo sac plays an important role in this long-range signaling process.

Journal Article↗