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Isolation of two populations of sperm cells from the pollen tube of Torenia fournieri

  • Cell Biology and Morphogenesis
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Abstract

The two sperm cells of Torenia fournieri are dimorphic. The dimorphic character suggests that they might be preferentially involved in fertilization during in vivo fusion with the egg cell and central cell. To probe the mechanism of preferential fertilization, it is necessary to use the most current molecular techniques. For this purpose, populations of >1000 individuals of the two dimorphic sperm cells, Sua (unassociated with the vegetative nucleus) and Svn (associated with the vegetative nucleus) were isolated from pollen tubes that had grown out of the cut ends of the styles. The two sperm cells released from pollen tubes remained attached to one another. When the two attached sperm cells were transferred into a solution containing 0.01% cellulose, 0.01% pectinase, and 5% mannitol, the connection between the two cells disappeared, and they were easily separated using a micromanipulator. The collection of these two individual populations containing over a thousand cells will permit research on gametic recognition at the molecular level.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30570104). The authors thank Prof. Curt Peterson for his helpful comments and revises on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. South China Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, China

    Su Hong Chen & Jing Ping Liao

  2. Department of Biology, The University of Texas–Pan American, 1201 West University Dr., Edinburg, TX, 78541, USA

    An Xiu Kuang

  3. School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Hui Qiao Tian

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  1. Su Hong Chen
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  2. Jing Ping Liao
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  3. An Xiu Kuang
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  4. Hui Qiao Tian
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hui Qiao Tian.

Additional information

Communicated by G. C. Phillips

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Chen, S.H., Liao, J.P., Kuang, A.X. et al. Isolation of two populations of sperm cells from the pollen tube of Torenia fournieri . Plant Cell Rep 25, 1138–1142 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-006-0189-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-006-0189-3

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