Cytochemical investigation of genic male-sterility in Chinese cabbage

Abstract

A genic male sterile Chinese cabbage, Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis Makino, was examined using cytological and cytochemical methods to characterize the process of pollen abortion in this plant. Thick sections of both fertile and sterile anthers at different developmental stages were stained using Toluidine Blue O, Periodic Acid-Schiff's (PAS) reaction and Sudan Black B to detect cytochemical changes that may occur in the distribution of insoluble polysaccharide and lipid storage bodies. Pollen abortion in sterile anthers occurs at an early stage of microspore development. During early microspore development, reductions in the number of starch grains in the connective tissue of fertile anthers coincide with the accumulation of starch grains in cells of the anther wall. In the late microspore stage, a large vacuole forms in the microspore, and tapetal cells synthesize and accumulate lipid droplets. The cellular organization of tapetal cells in sterile anthers appears similar to that in fertile anthers, except for the absence of lipid droplets in cells of sterile anthers and diffusely labeled tapetal polysaccharides, suggesting defects in nutrient storage.

Early meiosis in Rhynchospora pubera L. (Cyperaceae) is marked by uncommon ultrastructural features

“…2B). These ultrastructural features can be a sign indicative of the initial stage of programmed cell death (Papini et al., 1999; Pennell and Lamb, 1997; Wu and Cheung, 2000). The cytoplasm of PMCs exhibited a larger number of organelles at the adaxial position, but with mitochondria and plastids undifferentiated and several vacuoles randomly distributed (Fig.…”

“…Microspores of Pinus banksiana Lamb (Li and Dickison, 1987) and Lycopersicon esculentum Mill (Polowick and Sawhney, 1992) have grooves and invaginations in the nuclear envelope. The development of tetrads in Tradescantia virginiana L. occurs inside the vacuoles in the plasmodial tapetum (Furness and Rudall, 1999), and pollen kit substances accumulate unevenly on the surface of early microspores in Chinese cabbage (Xie et al, 2005).…”

Cytological Investigations of the Microsporogenesis in Male-sterile Ramie (Boehmeria nivea Gaud.) and Its Offspring

“…Genic male sterility has been used in exploiting hybrid vigor in some crops such as barley, tomato and pepper (Rao et al 1990). The absence of functional pollen grains in an MS plant is a desirable character because it facilitates the crossbreeding avoiding labor-intense emasculation in greenhouse or in field (Xie et al 2005). Ramie male sterility may be a valuable tool in breeding programs for fiber or forage purposes since the desirable products are vegetative organs as stems and leaves and the plants have asexual reproduction that assures the maintenance of MS genotypes in field which also could be replicated by rhizome divisions.…”

Cytological and biophysical comparative analysis of cell structures at the microsporogenesis stage in sterile and fertile Allium species

“…These cells are present among sporophytic cells (tapetum) that are involved in, e.g., nutrient and enzyme supply, indispensable at all the stages of cell differentiation (Taylor et al 1997; Wang et al 2003; Lerstern 2004). Disturbances in the development and function of the tapetum have been described as a frequent cause of male sterility in plants, e.g., in Zea mays (Chaubal et al 2000), Allium schoenoprasum (Engelke et al 2002), Beta vulgaris (Chauhan 2005), B. campestris (Xie et al 2005), and Arabidopsis (Ma 2005). …”