Pollen hydration status at dispersal: cytophysiological features and strategies

The aim of this paper is to draw attention to partially hydrated pollen. na mely, pollen grains having a high water content (>30%), this type of pollen is more frequent than previously thought. Various cyto-physiological strat egies are used to retain water during exposure and dispersal such as cytopl asm carbohydrates: in the absence of such strategies, fast pollination must be ensured, because uncontrolled loss of water leads to pollen death. On t he other hand, a state of partial hydration allows a fast tube emission (ev en within 3-5 min). Several methods for determining the hydration status of pollen at anthesis are proposed.