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Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Author Spotlight: A High-Resolution, Single-Grain, In Vivo Pollen Hydration Bioassay for Arabidopsis thaliana
Published on: June 30, 2023
Arabidopsis pollen extensins LRX are required for cell wall integrity during pollen tube growth
Ana R Sede1, Cecilia Borassi2,3, Diego L Wengier1
1Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular, "Dr. Héctor Torres" (INGEBI-CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Abstract:
Proper cell wall assembly is crucial during pollen tube growth. Leucine-rich repeat extensins (LRXs) are extracellular glycoproteins which belong to the hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein (HRGP) family. They contain a conserved N-terminal leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain and a highly variable C-terminal extensin domain. Here, we characterized four LRX proteins (LRX8 through LRX11) from pollen of Arabidopsis thaliana. To investigate the role of LRX8-LRX11 in pollen germination and pollen tube growth, multiple T-DNA lrx mutants were obtained. The lrx mutants display abnormal pollen tubes with an irregular deposition of callose and pectin. They also show serious alterations in pollen germination and segregation ratio. Our results suggest that LRXs are involved in ensuring proper cell wall assembly during pollen tube growth.
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