Padilla, Christopher Val U.

Bio 198 Gth

I. Title

II. Introduction
A. Seed and its Importance
B. How Seeds Are Formed
a. Pollen Germination - Fertilization Pathway
C. Pollen Germination
a. Pollen in Focus
i. Structure and Description
ii. Pollen Tube Growth
1. Mechanism of the cytoskeleton (specifically the actin)
2. Actin Dynamics
3. Actin (Function in plants and in pollen germination)
D. ACT11
E. Arabidopsis ACT11 modifies actin turnover to promote pollen germination and maintain
the normal rate of tube growth
a. Objectives

III. Methodology
A. Plant materials and growth conditions
B. In vitro pollen germination and tube growth measurement
C. Visualization of YFP-RabA4B and FRAP
D. Visualization of F-actin organization in pollen grains and tubes
E. Live-cell imaging of actin filaments in pollen tubes
F. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis
G. Total Arabidopsis pollen protein isolation and western blot analysis

IV. Results and Discussion

a. ACT11 is required for pollen germination and normal tube growth
b. Loss of function of ACT11 reduces the amount of filamentous actin and affects the
convergence of actin filaments upon the germination aperture
c. Vesicle trafficking is enhanced in act11 pollen tubes
d. Actin filaments are more dynamic in act11 pollen tubes
e. Reducing actin dynamics via jasplakinolide treatment reverses the pollen germination and
tube growth phenotypes in act11 pollen

V. Conclusion