Pollen tube Pollen tube A pollen tube is a tubular structure produced by the male gametophyte of seed plants when it germinates. It acts as a conduit to transport the male gamete cells from the pollen grain—either from the stigma (in flowering plants) to the ovules at the base of the pistil or directly through ovule tissue in some gymnosperms. In maize, this single cell can grow longer than to traverse the length of the pistil. Pollen tubes were first discovered by Giovanni Battista Amici. They are used as a model for understanding plant cell behavior. Research is ongoing to comprehend how
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