MOLECULAR-BIOLOGY OF MALE GAMETOGENESIS

Pollen development has been studied at a molecular level in several sy stems that are amenable to genetic or transgenic analysis. We have cha racterized several tomato genes that are expressed late in pollen deve lopment. Our goals in this research were 1) to determine the cis- and trans-acting factors that mediate pollen expression, and 2) to determi ne the functions of the proteins encoded by these genes. We currently favor the hypothesis that pollen-specific gene expression is mediated in a combinatorial manner. Antisense experiments have indicated an imp ortant role for the LAT52 protein during pollen hydration.