Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Imaging Spatial Reorganization of a MAPK Signaling Pathway Using the Tobacco Transient Expression System
Published on: March 20, 2016
Structural and signaling networks for the polar cell growth machinery in pollen tubes
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA. acheung@biochem.umass.edu
Abstract:
Pollen tubes elongate within the pistil to transport sperms to the female gametophytes for fertilization. Pollen tubes grow at their tips through a rapid and polarized cell growth process. This tip growth process is supported by an elaborate and dynamic actin cytoskeleton and a highly active membrane trafficking system that together provide the driving force and secretory activities needed for growth. A polarized cytoplasm with an abundance of vesicles and tip-focused Ca(2+) and H(+) concentration gradients are important for the polar cell growth process. Apical membrane-located Rho GTPases regulate Ca(2+) concentration and actin dynamics in the cytoplasm and are crucial for maintaining pollen tube polarity. Pollen tube growth is marked by periods of rapid and slow growth phases. Activities that regulate and support this tip growth process also show oscillatory fluctuations. How these activities correlate with the rapid, polar, and oscillatory pollen tube growth process is discussed.
More Related Videos
06:03AMEBaS: Automatic Midline Extraction and Background Subtraction of Ratiometric Fluorescence Time-Lapses of Polarized Single Cells
Published on: June 23, 2023
07:01Development of Microfluidic Devices to Study the Elongation Capability of Tip-growing Plant Cells in Extremely Small Spaces
Published on: May 22, 2018
Related Concept Videos
The Phragmoplast
The...
The Phragmoplast
The...
Cell Adhesion in Plants
Pectins are complex heteropolymers mainly composed of negatively-charged α-D-glucopyranosyl uronic acid and some neutral glycosyl residues such as α-L-rhamnopyranose, α-L-arabinofuranose, and...
Cell Signaling in Plants
Contact-dependent Signaling
Gap Junctions
In animal cells, gap junctions are formed...
Plasmodesmata