Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 27, 2026

Collection and Identification of Pollen from Honey Bee Colonies
Published on: January 19, 2021
Crop Pollen Development under Drought: From the Phenotype to the Mechanism
Jing Yu1, Mengyuan Jiang2, Changkui Guo3
1State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, China. yujing2009@zafu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Drought stress induced pollen sterility is a harmful factor that reduces crop yield worldwide. During the reproductive process, the meiotic stage and the mitotic stage in anthers are both highly vulnerable to water deficiency. Drought at these stages causes pollen sterility by affecting the nature and structure of the anthers, including the degeneration of some meiocytes, disorientated microspores, an expanded middle layer and abnormal vacuolizated tapeta. The homeostasis of the internal environment is imbalanced in drought-treated anthers, involving the decreases of gibberellic acid (GA) and auxin, and the increases of abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Changes in carbohydrate availability, metabolism and distribution may be involved in the effects of drought stress at the reproductive stages. Here, we summarize the molecular regulatory mechanism of crop pollen development under drought stresses. The meiosis-related genes, sugar transporter genes, GA and ABA pathway genes and ROS-related genes may be altered in their expression in anthers to repair the drought-induced injures. It could also be that some drought-responsive genes, mainly expressed in the anther, regulate the expression of anther-related genes to improve both drought tolerance and anther development. A deepened understanding of the molecular regulatory mechanism of pollen development under stress will be beneficial for breeding drought-tolerant crops with high and stable yield under drought conditions.
Related Concept Videos
Responses to Drought and Flooding
Sustainable Development
Reaction Mechanisms
For instance, the decomposition of ozone appears to follow a mechanism with two steps:
Mechanical Protein Functions
Background and Environment Affect Phenotype
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
Mechanism of Conjugation

