Neutral Lipids in the Flowers of Arabidopsis Mutants

植物的有性生殖是一个动态过程，其机制和控制是复杂的。 对开花和结果的分子基础的研究在农业上既有实际意义，又有智力上的吸引力。 促进有性生殖可提高果实和种子产量。 抑制这一过程可以提高蔬菜产量。 其他可能的操作包括利用雄性不育基因产生杂交种子，产生无籽果实和促进自花受精。有性生殖的一个重要步骤是花中含有雄性精子的花粉与含有雌性卵子的部分之间的相互作用。 这种相互作用主要由花粉表面的分子引发。 花粉被主要由水不溶性脂类和半水溶性蛋白质组成。 这些脂质和蛋白质来源于包围成熟花粉的亲本细胞中的亚细胞颗粒。 位于滨江的加州大学的安东尼·黄教授的实验室将在拟南芥中研究这些亚细胞颗粒，拟南芥是卷心菜家族的模式植物。 这些研究将侧重于脂质和蛋白质成分的选择性降解和保留，它们在花粉表面的运输和沉积，以及它们在授粉和受精过程中的功能。 拟南芥突变体中的脂质和蛋白质的缺陷将被用来剖析这一亲本花粉途径。这些结果将揭示亲本细胞对花粉成熟，特别是对花粉外壁形成的调控机制。 它们还将确定丰富的脂质和蛋白质在授粉，花粉萌发和管渗透到柱头的功能。

Sexual reproduction in plants is a dynamic process, and its mechanism and control are complicated. Research into the molecular basis of flowering and fruiting is intellectually intriguing as well as practical in agriculture. Promoting sexual reproduction could enhance the yield of fruits and seeds. Suppressing the process could increase the yield of vegetable produce. Other possible manipulations include utilizing male sterile genes to produce hybrid seeds, generating seedless fruits, and promoting self fertilization. A major step in sexual reproduction is the interaction between the male sperm-containing pollen and the female egg-containing part in the flowers. This interaction is initiated largely by the molecules on the pollen surface. The pollen coat contains water-insoluble lipids and semi-water-soluble proteins as the major constituents. These lipids and proteins originate from subcellular particles in the parental cells enclosing the maturing pollen. The laboratory of Professor Anthony Huang at the University of California at Riverside will study these subcellular particles in Arabidopsis, a model plant of the cabbage family. The studies will emphasize the lipid and protein constituents in terms of their selective degradation and retention, their transport to and deposition on the pollen surface, and their function in the pollination and fertilization process. Arabidopsis mutants deficient in the lipids and proteins will be employed to dissect this parent-to-pollen pathway. The results will delineate the mechanism of the control that the parental cells have over pollen maturation, especially on the pollen coat formation. They will also define the functions of the abundant lipids and proteins in the pollen coat in pollination, pollen germination, and tube penetration into the stigma.