Ultrastructure of the sperms ofPlumbago zeylanica

Summary

Male gametes ofPlumbago zeylanica were examined in pollen grains and tubes using light and electron microscopy of chemically and physically fixed tissues, and Nomarski interference microscopy of isolated, living sperm cells. Male gametes are elongate, spindleshaped cells containing a nucleus, mitochondria, ER, ribosomes, vesicles, dictyosomes, probable microfilaments, and a variable number of plastids. In mature pollen grains ofP. zeylanica, the two sperm cells are directly linked; they share a transverse cell wall with plasmodesmata and are enclosed together by the inner vegetative cell plasma membrane. One of these two sperms is also associated with the vegetative nucleus as a consistent feature of pollen grain organization. The basis of this association appears to be a long, narrow projection of the sperm cell (averaging < 1 μm wide and about 30 μm long) which wraps around the periphery of the vegetative nucleus and occupies embayments of that nucleus. This association is maintained throughout pollen tube growth but becomes less extensive near the completion of tube growth and is severed following tube discharge. The consistent occurrence of the sperm-vegetative nucleus association in pollen grains, tubes and isolated pollen cytoplasm suggests that the two structures may be directly connected, but attempts to visualize this type of connection were unsuccessful. Possibly, the entwining nature and extent of complementary interfaces between vegetative nucleus and sperm may have a role in stabilizing their association. Functionally, the two sperms and vegetative nucleus appear to travel as a linked unit within the pollen tube, possibly increasing the effectiveness of gamete delivery and helping to ensure nearly simultaneous transmission of sperms into the receptive megagametophyte.