Membrane recycling and the control of secretory activity in pollen tubes.

Pollen tubes of Tradescantia growing on media containing 10(-3) M-Ca2+ and 10(-2)M-Ca2+ exhibit growth rates of 28 micrometers min-1 and 7 micrometers min-1, respectively. The rates of vesicle production by the dictyosomes in these tubes were determined from the rates at which vesicles accumulated in the cytoplasm after treatment with cytochalasin D. Although the vesicle requirements for these two growth rates are considerably different, it was found that vesicle production rates were the same. The results indicate that, in pollen tubes, membrane recycling is occurring and that dictyosome activity is not regulated according to the vesicle requirements for tube growth.

The effect of cycloheximide on dictyosome activity in Tradescantia pollen tubes determined using cytochalasin D.

Dictyosome activity in Tradescantia pollen tubes has been determined using a recently developed method based on the assumption that the rate of vesicle accumulation around the dictyosomes, after treatment with cytochalasin D, is equivalent to the actual rate of vesicle production. In tubes germinated in the presence of 1.0 micrograms/ml cycloheximide, reduced dictyosome activity could be detected as early as 10 min after sowing, although tube extension was not halted until later. After 30 min vesicle production had completely ceased. These observations are discussed in relation to previous reports on the effect of cycloheximide on pollen tube growth, and in relation to the synthesis and transfer of membrane proteins to secretory vesicles and the plasma membrane. It is concluded that the ability of pollen to germinate and produce short tubes in the presence of cycloheximide, does not necessarily indicate that protein synthesis is not a requirement for early pollen tube growth, as protein shortages would not be expected to become apparent over time periods less than the dictyosome turnover time and the secretory vesicle residence time.

Determination of secretory vesicle production rates by dictyosomes in pollen tubes of Tradescantia using cytochalasin D.

Pollen tubes of Tradescantia were grown in vitro and exposed to 0.3 microgram/ml cytochalasin D for 5 or 10 min. Fine-structural observations revealed no visible effect of the drug on the organelles. Stereological analysis, using a method recently developed by Rose (1980) to obtain sphere size-distributions corrected for section thickness, revealed substantial increase in the number of secretory vesicles present in the cytoplasm around the dictyosomes. Equating the rate of vesicle accumulation with the rate of vesicle production, a total of 5388 vesicles per minute are formed by a growing tube. This corresponds to 2.4 vesicles per minute per dictyosome, and a turnover rate of 3.7 min for a single dictyosome cisterna, or about 15-18.5 min for a complete dictyosome. The calculated vesicle production rate agrees well with that required to sustain the observed growth rate of such tubes, based on the addition of membrane or wall material to the tube tip.