Abstract
The surface of mature pollen grains of many higher plants is covered with a layer of lipophilic materials called pollen coat. The pollen coat consists mainly of lipids and proteins and is necessary for successful pollination. However, little is still known about its molecular composition as well as the biosynthesis of each component. In this study, we are aimed at elucidating the lipid and protein components of Arabidopsis pollen coat exhaustively.
GC-MS analysis showed that the lipid of Arabidopsis pollen coat consists of C24-C31 normal saturated hydrocarbons, isohydrocarbons, and various esterified sterols. Some putative polar lipids were also detected by thin-layer chromatography. SDS-PAGE and TOF-MS analysis revealed that the pollen coat contains only small number of proteins larger than MW 15,000, whereas it contains large numbers of smaller proteins and peptides.
