Open Access

ARTICLE

Distribution of pectins in the pollen apertures of Oenothera hookeri.velans ster/+ster:

I.Noher de Halac^1,2, I.A. Cismondi², M.I. Rodriguez-García³, G.Famá

1. Centro de Estudio de las Metabolapatías Congénitas (CEMECO), Cátedra de Clínica Pediátrica, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. 5000 Córdoba, Argentina. Member of the research career of the Argentinean Science Council (CONICET).
2. Cátedra de Biología Celular, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. 5000 Córdoba, Argentina.
3. Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Profesor Albareda 1, Granada, Spain.
Address correspondence to: Dra. Inés Noher de Halac. CEMECO, Cátedra de Clínica Pediátrica, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Ferroviarios 1250, (5000) Córdoba, ARGENTINA. Fax: (+54-351) 468 3282. E-mail: rhalac@arnet.com.ar

BIOCELL 2003, 27(1), 11-18. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2003.27.011

Abstract

Cell wall pectins are some of the most complex biopolymers known, and yet their functions remain largely mysterious. The aim of this paper was to deepen the study of the spatial pattern of pectin distribution in the aperture of Oenothera hookeri.velans ster/+ster fertile pollen. We used “in situ” immunocytochemical techniques at electron microscopy, involving monoclonal antibodies JIM5 and JIM7 directed against pectin epitopes in fertile pollen grains of Oenothera hookeri.velans ster/+ster. The same region was also analyzed by classical cytochemistry for polysaccharide detection. Immunogold labelling at the JIM7 epitope showed only in mature pollen labelling mainly located at the intine endo-aperture region. Cytoplasmic structures near the plasma membrane of the vegetative cell showed no labelling gold grains. In the same pollen stage the labelling at the JIM5 epitope was mostly confined to a layer located in the limit between the endexine and the ektexine at the level of the border of the oncus. Some tubuli at the base of the ektexine showed also an accumulation of gold particles. No JIM5 label was demonstrated in the aperture chamber and either in any cytoplasmic structure of the pollen grains. The immunocytochemical technique, when compared with the traditional methods for non- cellulose polysaccharide cytochemistry is fare more sensitive and allows the univocal determination of temporal and spatial location of pectins recognized by the JIM7 and JIM5 MAbs.

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