Author
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McCormick, Sheila |
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Submitted to: Current Biology
Publication Type: Review Article Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/2013 Publication Date: 11/18/2013 Citation: McCormick, S.M. 2013. Pollen (quick guide). Current Biology. 23:R988-990. Interpretive Summary: This short article is a primer on Pollen, with answers to the questions What is pollen, and is it haploid or diploid?, How about the pollen wall? What about the pollen tube? and Why does pollen make allergens? Technical Abstract: What is pollen, and is it haploid or diploid? Pollen is a crucial stage of the plant life cycle — without pollen there will be no seed. When someone says “Think of a plant,” the plant you think of (whether it’s a tree, a tomato plant, or a geranium) is a sporophyte. Most land plants are sporophytes (usually diploids), and the sporophyte stage of the life cycle alternates with the gametophyte stage (haploids). The gametophytes are much smaller than sporophytes and are formed within structures on the sporophyte. A pollen grain is a male gametophyte, and pollen grains are formed in anthers, the male parts of flowers. |
