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Calcium Distribution and Accumulation in Ovules of Plumbago Zeylanica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

Hua Zhu
Affiliation:
Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK73019-0245
Scott D. Russell
Affiliation:
Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK73019-0245
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Extract

The embryo sac (ES) of Plumbago zeylanica, unlike most other flowering plants, lacks synergidsthe cell type that usually receives the pollen tube and the male gametes. Normally, synergids store copious amounts of calcium, estimated to exceed 15% by weight; this is believed to attract pollen tubes, which penetrate the ES, and may trigger the release of the sperm cells within one of the two synergids. If high concentrations of calcium are truly required for fertilization, the ES of Plumbago should also contain significant quantities. Synergids in normal flowering plants are preprogrammed for cell death, receiving the contents of the pollen tube directly in their cells, whereas synergid-lacking angiosperms apparently do not have such an apoptotic cell in the ES. Potassium pyroantimonate labeling was used to localize principally loosely-bound calcium, because it is a relatively mobile form of the Ca2+ ion that is available for redistribution during fertilization events.

Type
Light and Electron Microscopic Techniques for the Study of Plant Pathogenic Fungi and Their Interactions with Host Plants
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

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References

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