Ba. Palevitz et al., GAMMA-TUBULIN IN TOBACCO POLLEN TUBES - ASSOCIATION WITH GENERATIVE CELL AND VEGETATIVE MICROTUBULES, Sexual plant reproduction, 7(4), 1994, pp. 209-214
gamma-Tubulin was localized in tobacco pollen tubes using an antibody
raised against a peptide conserved in all known gamma-tubulins. Antibo
dy staining occurs in a primarily punctate pattern along the length of
the microtubule bundles in generative cells and along cortical microt
ubules in the vegetative cytoplasm. During generative cell division, g
amma-tubulin is localized in the forming mitotic apparatus. By metapha
se, it is present along kinetochore fibers except at their plus ends l
ocated at the kinetochores. By telophase, staining is observed in the
phragmoplast, where it again avoids the plus ends of microtubules at t
he cell plate, gamma-Tubulin is also present at the periphery of the s
perm nuclei. A patch of intense staining on the distal side of each nu
cleus marks the site of assembly of a new population of sperm microtub
ules. No specific fluorescence is present in control pollen tubes trea
ted with preimmune IgG. These localization patterns bear similarities
to those seen in somatic cells and in addition may help explain change
s in microtubule arrays between generative cells and sperm.