Image of the month (March 2011)

xylanase mutant pollen tubes in Maize

This image is from the cover of January 2007 issue of Journal of Biological Chemistry. This cover image accompanied a research article in the same issue: 'Maize Pollen Coat Xylanase Facilitates Pollen Tube Penetration into Silk during Sexual Reproduction' by Der Fen Suen and Anthony H. C. Huang, Center for Plant Cell Biology, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, Riverside, California 92521.

Article reference: Suen and Huang (2007), JBC, 282, 625-636.

From the description in JBC that accompanied this cover image:

"During maize sexual reproduction, pollen lands on the female silk, a multicellular receptor. It produces a sperm-containing tube that penetrates the silk (upper figure) and advances to the egg. The penetration requires the enzymatic action of a pollen coat xylanase on the silk wall. With elimination of the xylanase by an antisense technique, the pollen tube cannot penetrate but rather grows along the silk (lower figure). For details see the article by Suen and Huang, pages 625–636."

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