Pollen Tube - Pollen Tubes: An Excellent Model

Pollen Tubes: An Excellent Model

Pollen tubes are an excellent model for the understanding of plant cell behavior. They are easily cultivated in vitro and have a very dynamic cytoskeleton that polymerizes at very high rates, providing the pollen tube with interesting mechanical properties. The pollen tube has an unusual kind of growth; it extends exclusively at its apex. Extending the cell wall only at the tip minimizes friction between the tube and the invaded tissue. This tip growth is performed in a pulsating manner rather than in a steady fashion. Remarkably, the pollen tube’s journey through the style often results in depth-to-diameter ratios above 100:1 and up to 1000:1 in certain species, whereas classic mechanical drilling is often only effective up to 15:1 ratios. However, the internal machinery and the external interactions that govern the dynamics of pollen tube growth are far from being fully understood.

Read more about this topic:  Pollen Tube

Famous quotes containing the words pollen, excellent and/or model:

    Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.
    James Russell Lowell (1819–1891)

    “What have I gained?”
    “Experience,” said Holmes, laughing. “Indirectly it may be of value, you know; you have only to put it into words to gain the reputation of being excellent company for the remainder of your existence.”
    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930)

    For an artist to marry his model is as fatal as for a gourmet to marry his cook: the one gets no sittings, and the other gets no dinners.
    Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)