Cell Biological Analyses of Anther Morphogenesis and Pollen Viability in Arabidopsis and Rice

• DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4614-9408-9_9
• Publication Date: 2014-01-06T15:37:59Z
• Authors: Fang Chang; Zaibao Zhang; Yue Jin; Hong Ma
• Keywords: Tissue Survival; Cell Death; Staining and Labeling; Arabidopsis; Morphogenesis; Pollen; Oryza; Laser Capture Microdissection; Cellulose

Major advances have been made in recent years in our understanding of anther development through a combination of genetic studies, cell biological technologies, biochemical analysis, microarray and high-throughput sequencing-based approaches. In this chapter, we summarize the widely used protocols for pollen viability staining; the investigation of anther morphogenesis by light microscopy of semi-thin sections; TUNEL assay for programmed tapetum cell death; and laser microdissection procedures to obtain specialized cells or cell layers for carrying out transcriptomics.