The role of glycosylation in flavonol-induced pollen germination

Flavonols are small (C15) plant-specific molecules that are required for petunia and maize pollen to germinate. They exist in two chemical forms: the aglycone or glycosyl conjugates. Flavonol-deficient pollen is biochemically complemented by flavonol aglycones but not by the glycosylated forms that accumulate in wild type (WT) pollen. Coincident with the biochemical induction of germination, the added flavonol aglycone is rapidly converted to a galactoside and then to a glucosyl galactoside (diglycoside) that is identical to the compound present in WT pollen. A flavonol 3-O-galactosyltransferase (F3GalTase) activity has been identified that controls the formation of glycosylated flavonols in pollen. Importantly, this enzyme also catalyzes the reverse reaction, i.e. the production of the flavonol aglycone from the galactoside and UDP (Fig. 1). F3GalTase/RevGalTase therefore has the potential to control the level of the bioactive flavonol species and as a result, pollen germination.