A CBSE ENGLISH

MEDIUM CO- EDUCATIONAL SENIOR SECONDARY

SCHOOL

SESSION: 2021-2022

BIOLOGY PROJECT

TOPIC: STUDY OF POLLEN STRUCTURE AND CALCULATION

OF POLLEN VIABILITY

NAME : OMAR ABDULLAH

ROLL NO. : 121
CLASS : XII
 INTRODUCTION
Pollen grains are microscopic structures, which bear androecium – a male
reproductive organ of a flower. The interior section of pollen grain
contains cytoplasm along with the tube cell, which converts into a pollen tube
and the generative cell releases the sperm nuclei.

Pollen grains are produced in specialized floral organs called stamens, which
consist of a stalk with vascular tissue and a two-lobbed anther. They develop
inside the anther until it splits and the mature grains are released into the
environment (dehiscence). Pollen grains then have to be transported to a
compatible stigma and they do so using one of various possible vectors. Common
vectors for pollen transport are wind and various insects, depending on the
species. When a stigma is reached, the pollen grain forms a pollen tube that will
grow through the tissues of the pistil towards the ovary to deliver the sperm cells.
Pollen development inside the anther is complex and involves various processes
that occur simultaneously to enable pollen development on one hand, and that
prepare the anther for pollen release on the other. One special feature of pollen
grains is their wall, which is completely different from the wall of any other plant
cell. The pollen wall is multilayered, derived from both the developing pollen
and sporophytic cells of the anther and consists of material that is highly resistant
to degradation, making it an important determinant of pollen viability. In some
species, on the surface of the pollen wall a layer of material is present, known as
the pollen coat, tryphine or pollen kit . This sticky substance may contain lipids,
proteins and phenolic compounds, and is especially substantial in entomophilous
species. The functions of the pollen coat are thought to include sticking to insects
to facilitate pollen transfer and protection against UV-radiation, but the lipids and
proteins of the pollen coat also play an important role on the stigma./
 In many species, pollen grains undergo programmed dehydration before release
from the anther. Dehydration of the pollen is accompanied by dehydration of the
anther cells and by sugar-starch conversions in both. After dehiscence, the pollen
of many species is dehydrated and metabolically inactive. In some species,
however, pollen grains are still partially hydrated and metabolically active, which
enables fast pollen tube formation. When a dehydrated pollen grain arrives on a
compatible stigma, it takes up water from it and produces a pollen tube.
Depending on the species, this process may take from minutes to several hours.
Once formed, the tube enters the pistil and is shielded from the environment, and
dependent on resources provided by the pistil to accomplish fertilization.
However, both on the stigma surface and in the pistil molecular mechanisms 11
may be functional that prevent fertilization by genetically distant or closely
related pollen.

DIAGRAM OF ANDROCEIUM
 STRUCTURE OF POLLEN GRAINS
Pollen grains are microscopic structures varying in their size and structure. The
size of pollen grains generally varies with the species. Overall, the exact size of
pollen grain ranges between three and two hundred micrometres or microns. The
shape of the pollen grain is commonly found in round, ovule, triangular, disc or
in a bean-shape with a smooth to spiky texture. The natural colour of pollen
grains are white, which may also vary depending on the plant species. Some are
yellow in colour, or orange, or cream and so on.

Pollen grains consist of three parts:

1. The inside of the cell, which is filled with living cytoplasm, deteriorates
rapidly during fossilisation.

2. Intine, the inner layer of the cell wall comprises the cellulose and pectin.
Similar to the cytoplasm, the intine also degrades rapidly during
fossilisation.

3. Exine, the outer layer of the cell wall, mainly consists of sporopollenin. It is
one of the most resistant substances. It is an N-free polymeric substance
belonging to the diverse class of organic compounds called terpenes.
DIAGRAM OF POLLEN
 VIABILITY OF POLLEN GRAIN
Pollen viability refers to its functionality, i.e. the ability of pollen to mature,
germinate and transfer the male gametes to the embryo sac. The quality of pollen
is determined by its viability. To complete fertilisation, pollen grains have to
reach the stigma of the pistil before they lose their viability. The period of
viability varies from one species to another and is dependent on temperature and
humidity. The pollen grains of rice and wheat become inviable within 30 minutes
after their release, whereas pollen grains of some families such as Solanaceae,
Fabaceae may remain viable for several months. Pollen grains can be stored in
liquid nitrogen at -196℃ and kept viable for several years.

FACTORS AFFECTING POLLEN VIABILITY

1. HUMIDITY:- The effect of relative humidity of the environment on pollen
viability is apparent in many species investigated. The response to high or
low humidity, however, may differ between species and is usually
associated with the intrinsic hydration state of the pollen at dehiscence.
Pollen of most species contains very little water, but some pollen grains
have relatively high hydration levels. A well known example is the pollen
of the Gramineae, which together with more than 40 angiosperm families
contain more than 30% water at dehiscence.Besides having higher
hydration levels, these pollen grains are also metabolically more active,
which allows fast pollen tube extrusion. Usually, pollen grains with higher
water content are more sensitive to low relative humidity (RH) in the
environment because they lose water more rapidly. In such desiccation
intolerant species loss of water is thought to lead to irreversible changes in
the pollen membranes 15. To minimize water loss to the environment,
pollen grains of various species have developed adaptations. These may
involve structural adaptation of the pollen wall or the presence of sucrose in
the pollen cytoplasm to reduce water loss and protect membranes.
2. TEMPERATURE:- Like water status, temperature can affect pollen grains
during transport and germination on the stigma, but also during
development in the anther. From several studies it appears that mature
pollen grains are generally rather resistant to temperature stress applied
after dehiscence, but detailed investigations have been carried out in a few
instances only. In tomato, applying mild heat stress after dehiscence did
 reduce fruit set, but the differences with controls were not significant. More
severe heat stress treatments of Brassica pollen revealed that they still
germinated after exposure to 60°C for 4 hrs; if the pollen was prehydrated
in humid air prior to germination they even germinated after 24 hrs at 45°C.
However, germination rates and pollen tube lengths were significantly
lower than for controls. Pollen grains treated at 75°C did not germinate at
all, with or without prehydration. Seed set after pollination with pollen
treated at 75°C or at 60°C for 24 hrs was reduced, but pollination with any
of the other samples led to normal seed set. One possible explanation for
this observation may be that pollen germination on the stigma can
overcome effects of the heat treatment, but it is also possible that the
stigmas were over-pollinated, thereby masking the reduced germination
rates. Furthermore, because the pollinations were performed with treated
pollen only, there was no selection on pollen tube growth rate. It is
therefore possible that pollen performance may be affected in mixed
pollinations as they occur in natural environments. Potato pollen form an
exception to the observation that pollen grains are generally rather resistant
to temperature stress. Exposure of pollen of different potato varieties to
30°C for up to 30 minutes strongly decreased pollen germination, while
seed set was less affected. The decrease varied between 30 to 70% for
different potato varieties.
3. UV-B RADIATION :- Studies on the effect of UV-B radiation on plant
growth and development have mostly been performed in the past 25 years,
when it became clear that atmospheric ozone reduction could lead to an
increase in UV-B radiation (Caldwell et al., 1998). UV-B radiation (280-
320 nm) is normally present in the sunlight that reaches the earth’s surface,
and it is therefore likely that mechanisms are present in plants to protect
them against the damaging effects of UV-B. However, with increased
radiation due to decreased ozone these mechanisms could prove
insufficient. On a cellular level, UV-B induced damage may occur in DNA,
proteins and lipids. DNA damage can be repaired, and affected proteins and
lipids replaced to a certain degree. In addition, some transport processes are
perturbed when membranes are 25 targeted by UV radiation, which in turn
may disturb cellular processes (Murphy, 1983). On the whole-plant level
increased UV-B radiation may result in reduced growth, but responses
differ between species and even between varieties (Caldwell et al., 1998).
 With respect to reproduction, UV-B radiation may alter timing of flowering
and the number of flowers formed. The potential damage by UV-B
radiation to the pollen during the transfer from the anther to the stigma may
be reduced by flavonoids present in the pollen wall (Stapleton and Walbot,
1994). In addition, dispersal of pollen clustered in some way may prevent
the inner pollen grains from radiation damage (Dafni and Firmage, 2000).
In an early analysis of the effect of UV-B radiation on germination, pollen
grains were exposed to radiation levels similar to those at either temperate
latitude or equatorial alpine locations (Flint and Caldwell, 1984). In three of
four species analyzed, higher radiation levels caused partial inhibition of
germination (33-52%), but at low levels no effect was observed. A more
extensive analysis included 34 species that were treated with two levels of
UV-B radiation (Torabinejad et al., 1998). Species responded differently to
the treatments. Significant reductions in pollen germination rates were
found for 5 species only, while more than 50% showed a significant
reduction in pollen tube lengths. However, some species showed an
increase in germination rates or pollen tube lengths (Torabinejad et al.,
1998). Although the differences were small, it appeared that trinucleate
pollen and pollen of monocotyledonous plants were more sensitive to UV-
B radiation.
4. TRANSPORT :- One of the crucial events in the fertilization process of
higher plants is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma,
often of another flower. In the case of wind pollinators, the transport of
pollen trough the atmosphere will probably have similar effects as exposure
to the environment, which was shown to rapidly decrease viability of maize
pollen (Luna et al., 2001; Aylor, 2003, 2004). In the case of pollination by
insects or other animals, the effect on viability may depend strongly on the
type of pollinator. In nature, many invertebrate and vertebrate species can
and will act as pollinator. However, honey bees are often seen as the most
efficient pollinators, possibly because of their frequent use in agriculture
and because of their ability to adapt to many environments around the
world. As literature dealing with the effect on pollen of transport by insects
other than bees is extremely rare, we will focus here on bees only. Bees
collect pollen which serves as source of proteins, fatty substances, minerals
and vitamins. Pollen is therefore indispensable for the bees’ survival;
pollination of flowers occurs only as a side effect during the collection of
 pollen. Pollen is collected with the bees’ mouth parts, is moistened and
subsequently kept on the posterior pair of legs. However, numerous pollen
grains stick to body hairs, and may remain dry. Once returned to the hive,
the bee unloads her pollen and grooms herself. Despite this, 10000- 25000
pollen grains remain on the bees’ body, which was reported to be more than
of any other hairy insect (Lukoschas, 1957). Very few reports exist that
consider the viability of pollen grains present on the body hair of bees. It
has been reported that bees carrying viable Brassica pollen could be found
emerging from the hive (Eastham and Sweet, 2002). In addition, for
Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo) it was reported that viability of pollen present
on the bee was lower (46–28%) than pollen of the same age present on the
anther (>80%) (Vaissiere et al, 1996). Because the age of pollen was never
more than 4 hours, it is unclear when the pollen looses viability completely.
However, considering the rapid decline it seems unlikely that pollen would
still be viable after a night in the hive.
5. OTHER FACTORS :- The environmental factors listed above affect the
viability of pollen of a large number of species. However, few additional
factors are known to influence pollen viability. For example, elevated CO2
levels protect pollen viability against heat stress during development (Aloni
et al., 2001). As heat stress and also drought stress during pollen
development are associated with changes in sugar metabolism (Saini, 1997;
Pressman et al., 2002), it is possible that the elevated CO2 causes increases
the assimilate availability. Pollen viability is not only influenced by
environmental factors. Different genotypes of Picea abies were shown to
vary with respect to pollen viability (Nikkanen et 28 al., 2000), and in
Prunus avium both the genotype of the pollen and the pistil affected pollen
tube growth (Hormaza and Herrero, 1999).