The fusion of sperm cells and the function of male germ unit (MGU) of tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum L.)

Tian, Hui Qiao; Russell, Scott D.

doi:10.1007/s004970050137

Cited by 18 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 23 publications

(21 reference statements)

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“…Thus, for optimal sperm cell production, we used an in vivo/in vitro system for pollen tube growth in this study. Normally, pollen tube growth through a 4-cm tobacco style requires 2 days from pollination to fertilization, during which maturational modifications to the sperm cell occur as pollen tubes elongate (Tian and Russell 1998).…”

Section: Isolation and Collection Of Viable Mature Sperm Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expressed sequence-tag analysis of tobacco sperm cells reveals a unique transcriptional profile and selective persistence of paternal transcripts after fertilization

et al. 2010

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Transcript analysis of male gametes of Nicotiana tabacum was conducted to gather gene expression data regarding the specialization of male germ cells and transmission of paternal transcripts during fertilization. We constructed a tobacco sperm cell cDNA library yielding 1,864 expressed sequence tags representing 1,050 clusters; 37.2% of these clusters have no homologs in GenBank, and 42% did not match any functionally classified protein. A comparative analysis of tobacco sperm transcripts with those of Arabidopsis and maize confirms that some genes are conserved in sperm specialization, while some are distinct to tobacco germline cells. Using reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) of selected transcripts, we evaluated expression of sperm-obtained sequences in vegetative tissue, isolated egg cells, zygotes, and two-celled proembryos, identifying sperm cell-specific transcripts as potential markers for fertilization analysis. We further confirmed that two clusters of sperm transcripts were detected in zygotes about 10 h after fertilization, offering new examples of apparently paternally transmitted transcripts that may be involved in egg cell activation and/or early embryogenesis.

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Section: Isolation and Collection Of Viable Mature Sperm Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expressed sequence-tag analysis of tobacco sperm cells reveals a unique transcriptional profile and selective persistence of paternal transcripts after fertilization

et al. 2010

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“…In tobacco, for example, immediately after their formation, sperm cells placed in apposition often fuse spontaneously (Tian and Russell, 1998). In vivo, a rapidly deposited callose wall forms between the sperm cells, separating them and impeding such indiscriminate fusions (Yu and Russell, 1993).…”

Section: Sperm Maturationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within minutes of formation, however, sperm cells lose this tendency, and at 20 h after sperm formation, fusion can be induced only by modifying the cell surface. Exposure of the cells to dilute solutions containing both cellulase and pectinase was sufficient to trigger fusion in tobacco (Tian and Russell, 1998). Presumably, sperm maturation involves multiple carbohydrate determinants on the cell surface that reduce the likelihood of random fusions but that do not impede sexual gamete fusion.…”

Section: Sperm Maturationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Analysis of the Fertilization Process

Weterings

Russell

2004

THE PLANT CELL ONLINE

165

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“…The diameter of the isolated cells ranged between 5 and 9 µm and their shape was spherical as opposed to spindle-like in the pollen tubes. One percent of the cells were >8.5 µm diameter and represented either undivided generative cells or fused sperm cells (Tian and Russell 1998;Zhang et al 1997). In order to distinguish between these two possibilities, we stained the isolated cells with DAPI.…”

Section: Mass Isolation and Purification Of Sperm Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Isolation and characterization of male-germ-cell transcripts in Nicotiana tabacum

Weterings

Vriezen

et al. 2002

Sexual Plant Reproduction

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Until recently, little knowledge existed about the molecular mechanisms regulating male gamete development. This was mainly due to the low transcriptional activity and the cellular inaccessibility of the generative and sperm cells that are enclosed by the vegetative cell in pollen. In order to study sperm cell development and possible preferential fusion during double fertilization, we have constructed a cDNA library of mRNA isolated from pure tobacco sperm cells. An initial screen of 396 clones from this library has yielded 2 cDNAs representing sperm-cell-expressed transcripts, designated NtS1 and NtS2. A preliminary characterization of these two clones showed that they accumulate in both the generative and sperm cells (i.e. the male gamete) indicating that gene expression programs between these two cell types overlap. In addition, we found that NtS1 codes for a polygalacturonase suggesting a role for this enzyme in wall degradation during differentiation of the male germ cells in tobacco. Together, these results show that with the construction of this sperm-cell cDNA library we now have a powerful tool to investigate male gamete development and function.

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The fusion of sperm cells and the function of male germ unit (MGU) of tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum L.)

Cited by 18 publications

References 23 publications

Expressed sequence-tag analysis of tobacco sperm cells reveals a unique transcriptional profile and selective persistence of paternal transcripts after fertilization

Expressed sequence-tag analysis of tobacco sperm cells reveals a unique transcriptional profile and selective persistence of paternal transcripts after fertilization

Experimental Analysis of the Fertilization Process

Isolation and characterization of male-germ-cell transcripts in Nicotiana tabacum

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