Page 153 - Book of Abstracts

5 International Scientific Online Conference DOI: https://doi.org/10.15414/2021.9788055224015

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POLLEN MORPHOLOGY OF SOME SPECIES OF THE GENUS LYCIUM L.
Mykhailo Zhurba , Ivan Gurnenko , Svetlana Motyleva
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2
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1 M.M. Gryshko National Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,
Kyiv, Ukraine; E-mail.: zhurbamikhail@gmail.com
2 Federal Horticultural Research Center for Breeding, Agrotechnology and Nursery,
Moscow, Russian Federation
The visualization of the surface of biological samples using a scanning electron
microscope reveals features of the external relief and can resolve very fine and detailed features
of the surface. Pollen grain micro sculpture is one of the diagnostic taxonomic and phylogenetic
parameters. Study of morphology and morphometry of pollen grains of Lycium spp. allows
found new additional diagnostic parameters of species. This study aimed to compare the
morphological parameters of pollen grains of the five species of Lycium spp.
Pollen grains were studied on the species collected in the Forest-Steppe of Ukraine in M.M.
Gryshko National Botanical Garden of NAS of Ukraine (NBG). The following species were
analyzed: Lycium barbarum L., Lycium chinensis Mill., Lycium truncatum Wang., Lycium
europaeum L. An investigation was carried out at the laboratory of the Department of Tropical
and Subtropical plants of NBG using an electron microscope Carl Zeiss LS 15. The measurement
of morphometric parameters was carried out on 50 pollen grains from each species using the
AxioVision Rel. 4.8.2.0 program. The measurements were made in a micrometer (μm). The
length of a polar axis (P) and the equatorial diameter (E) of grain, P/E ratio were measured and
their variation was compared among studied species. The ratio of polar and equatorial axis
(Р/Е) marks the degree of the pollen grains elongation (roundness).
The average of the polar axis and average length of the equatorial axis of pollen grains in
the studied species are as follows: L. barbarum from 35.14 to 35.44 and from 17.17 to 17.68 µm;
L. chinense from 37.66 to 40.85 and from 18.74 to 21.22 µm; L. truncatum from 36.54 to 38.51
and from 18.79 to 19.13 microns, respectively. The P/E ratio ranges from 1.85 to 2.04, the grains
being prolate spheroidal in shape. They are circular, narrowelliptic in equatorial view and
semitriangular in polar view, and tricolporate. The colpus is long, narrow, and sunken, and the
surface of the colpus membrane is tuberculate. The sculpture of the pollen grain exine is
complex, it belongs to the two and three-component sculptural type. The two-component
sculptural type – the exine ornamentation is it trickles and fold type of sculpture (LB01, LC05,
LT01, Delikat, and Princess Tao). The three-component sculptural type – the exine
ornamentation is finely folded, perforated (LC01, LC03, Q1and Tybet).
The studying of the pollen via scanning electron microscope allowed to separate the most
important parameters which can be used to identify the representatives of Lycium L. They are
the form (the pollen grains elongation, the length, and the width ratio). Parameters such as the
number of the apertures and the surface picture (micro sculpture) are more specific for
different cultivars. Studies have established characteristic differences in the morphometric and
micro sculptural features of pollen for each of the studied species of Lycium spp., which exhibit
certain interesting features, imaged at the nanoscale level. Besides, the relief of pollen grains
can affect the strength of the contact between the pollen surface and the pistil, as well as the
contact between the pollen surface and water droplets.
Keywords: Lycium spp., pollen, SEM, morphology.

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