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Comment
. 2020 Sep 1:9:e61647.
doi: 10.7554/eLife.61647.

Growing straight through walls

Subramanian Sankaranarayanan  1   2 , Sharon A Kessler  1   2
Affiliations
Comment

Growing straight through walls

Subramanian Sankaranarayanan et al. Elife. .

Abstract

The pollen tube in a flowering plant grows in a direction that is influenced by the mechanical properties of the stigma papillae and the organization of structures called cortical microtubules inside these cells.

Keywords: A. thaliana; KATANIN; mechanical anisotropy; plant biology; pollen tube guidance; stigma papilla.

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Conflict of interest statement

SS, SK No competing interests declared

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Pollen tube growth in stigma papillae.
When a grain of pollen (shown in mustard) lands on a papilla in the stigma (green) of a flowering plant, a pollen tube (PT; also shown in mustard) begins to grow through the cell wall (CW) of the papilla so that the sperm cells (S; red) in the pollen can be delivered to the female gametes, which are located in ovules deep inside the plant. In stage 12 flowers (left), the organization of the cortical microtubules (CMTs; blue lines) inside the papilla is highly anisotropic and the pollen tube grows in a straight line. In older stage 15 flowers (right), the organization of the microtubules is isotropic and the pollen tube forms a coil around the papilla as it grows. The vegetative cell (V) makes up the body of the pollen tube and encloses the sperm cells.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

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