Pollen magnification to see detail. The study of pollen is called palynology and is highly useful in paleoecology, paleontology, archaeology, and forensics. Pollen in plants is used for transferring haploid male genetic material from the anther of a single flower to the stigma of another in cross-pollination. In a case of self-pollination, this process takes place from the anther of a flower to the stigma of the same flower. Pollen itself is not the male gamete. Each pollen grain contains vegetative (non-reproductive) cells (only a single cell in most flowering plants but several in other seed plants) and a generative (reproductive)
Bacillus spore morphogenesis and germination holin family Bacillus spore morphogenesis and germination holin family The "Bacillus" Spore Morphogenesis and Germination Holin (BSH) Family (TC# 1.E.23) is a family of proteins named after a holin in "Bacillus subtilis" described to be involved in spore morphogenesis and germination by Real et al (2005). The gene encoding this holin is "ywcE." Mutants lacking this gene or its product have spores that exhibit outer coat defects. These spores lack the characteristic striatal pattern resulting in the failure of the outer coat to attach to the underlying inner coat. Finally, the mutant spores accumulate reduced amounts of dipicolinic acid. BSH proteins average