Abstract
Male and female reproductive organs interact during the process of fertilization. First, pollen grains attach to the stigma. After hydration, pollen tubes germinate and are directed to the female gametophyte, then fertilization occurs. Our aim is to investigate the molecular mechanism of these male-female interactions.
kompeito (kom) mutant is defective in the pollen-stigma adhesion and in the sculpture on pollen surface. kom showed no callosic staining during meiosis stage. In later stages, exine formation was disrupted, suggesting that callose wall is important for the formation of the exine layer.
KOMPEITO encodes a seven-path transmembrane protein that shows homology with Drosophila Rhomboid, a protease that activates EGF ligand. KOM is expressed in pollen mother cell during meiosis stage. These results suggest that KOM is essential for the meiosis stage-specific callose accumulation.
In addition to the analysis of KOM gene, we will report on the in vivo observation of pollen growth.
