Abstract
Microdevices are developed to resemble the in-vivo micro-environment of ovule fertilization by pollen tubes in model research plant Arabidopsis thaliana. The PDMSbased microdevices are filled with pollen germination medium (PGM) providing pollen tubes with a proper growth environment. Pollen tubes are found to grow within the microgrooves with an average rate of 130tm/hr, reaching a final tube length of about 450tm. Targeting ovules by pollen tubes has also been tested with an observed efficiency of about 67%. Both the pollen tube growth rate and the ovule targeting efficiency in microdevices are similar to those obtained using in-vitro plate experiments. Finally, initial results indicate that pollen tube bundles preferentially turn toward ovule containing chambers, suggesting that the pollen tubes respond to the attractants secreted by unfertilized ovules.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 4805355 |
| Pages (from-to) | 208-211 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2009 |
| Event | 22nd IEEE International Conference on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems, MEMS 2009 - Sorrento, Italy Duration: Jan 25 2009 → Jan 29 2009 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering