New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts

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Mechanisms involved in rapid swelling of sesame (Sesamus indicum) pollen

Shafiq Rehman¹
Kui Jae Lee¹
Eui Shik Rha²
Song Joon Yun¹
Jin Key Kim¹

¹Faculty of Biological Resources Science
College of Agriculture
Chonbuk National University
Chonju, 561 756
South Korea
email: r.shafiq@lycos.com
² School of Plant Production
Science Faculty
College of Agricultural and the Science
Sunchon University, 540 742
South Korea

Abstract   Mature pollen from dehisced anther of sesame (Sesamus indicum L.) have 12 furrow apertures. Pollen were hydrated with distilled water and it was found that upon hydration pollen swelled in less than a second. Macallum’s staining solution revealed that the potassium (K) existed only at the furrow aperture areas of pollen. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) verified staining results of K at the furrow aperture areas of pollen. These results demonstrate that sesame pollen swell instantly upon hydration in water and there could be a relationship between K, located at the furrow aperture area, and rapid swelling of pollen.

Keywords   sesame; pollen; potassium; rapid swelling

H01058 Received 10 December 2001; accepted 5 August 2002; published 25 September 2002
New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 2002, Vol. 30: 209-213
0014-0671/02/3003-0209 $7.00 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2002

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