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Figure 1 | BMC Plant Biology

Figure 1

From: Distinct short-range ovule signals attract or repel Arabidopsis thaliana pollen tubes in vitro

Figure 1

Pollen tube targeting in vitro.(a) Diagram of a pollinated pistil within an A. thaliana flower. After reaching the stigma (si), pollen (p) extends a tube through the style (st) to reach the transmitting tract (tt) before entering one of the two ovary (ov) chambers to target an ovule. (b) Upon reaching the ovule, the pollen tube (pt, green) either grows up the funiculus (f) or makes a sharp turn towards the micropyle (m) and enters the ovule. Within the ovule, the pollen tube navigates towards the female gametophyte (gray) encased by outer (o) and inner (i) integuments, lyses within one of the two synergid (s) cells that flank an egg cell (e). Upon lysis, one sperm fertilizes the egg cell to form the zygote and the other fuses with the central cell (c) to form the endosperm. The number of pollen tubes drawn is for illustration purposes only and does not reflect the quantity typically observed in an assay. (c) Merged fluorescent and bright field images depicting the final stages of in vitro pollen tube growth. GFP-tagged pollen tubes make a committed turn (arrows) before entering a virgin ovule and lysing (arrow heads). (d) Diagram and (e) merged fluorescent and bright field image of in vitro pollen tube guidance assay. Pollen tubes emerge from the cut portion of the pistil, travel across the agarose medium before entering the excised ovules. Fluorescent green spot within ovules mark successful pollen tube targeting. Scale bars, 100 μm.

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