Int. J. Dev. Biol. 64: 7 - 19 (2020)

https://doi.org/10.1387/ijdb.190166ks

Vol 64, Issue 1-2-3

Special Issue: Developmental Biology in India - First Part

Developmental biology of dispersed pollen grains

Published: 23 June 2020

Kundaranahalli R. Shivanna*^,1 and Rajesh Tandon*^,2

¹Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bengaluru, India and ²Department of Botany, University of Delhi, Delhi, India

Abstract

Professor Panchanan Maheshwari served as Professor and Head of the Department of Botany, University of Delhi, from 1950 to 1966 and built an internationally reputed School of integrated plant embryology. Studies carried out during and after Maheshwari’s period from this School have enormously advanced our knowledge of the structural, developmental and functional aspects of embryological processes. This review covers studies carried out at the Delhi School on the developmental biology of dispersed pollen grains which operate from pollen dispersal from the anthers until pollen tubes discharge the male gametes in the embryo sac for fertilization. These events include pollen viability and vigour, pollen germination and pollen tube growth, structural details of the pistil relevant to pollen function, pollination and pollen-pistil interaction.

Keywords

ovule pollination, pollen grain, pollen germination, pollen-pistil interaction, pollen viability, pollination