Figure 1

Arabidopsis male meiocytes and anthers. A. A collection of anthers that undergo meiosis. In the buffer, the anther lobes should be clear and transparent (anther stages 5-7), otherwise it has passed meiosis and at free microscope stage (anther stages 8 or later). B. A thin section of a stage 6 anther. Male meiocytes were developing in the centers of four anther lobes (blue) with thick callose walls, and surrounded by tapetum (red) and the other anther wall cells (gray). C. A collection of male meiocytes. Male meiocytes clustered together in anther lobes in meiosis I and develop clear and thick callose-wall through late meiosis I and meiosis II, which are the indicators for distinguishing male meiocytes from somatic cells. Bars, 500 μm (A), 20 μm (B and C).