RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DYNAMICS OF STARCH GRAINS AND THE LIM14 PROTEIN DURING ANTHER DEVELOPMENT

LIM(Lily messages Induced at Meiosis)14 is an anther-specific 15kDa protein that may play a role in starch accumulation and amyloplast differentiation during anther development and pollen formation in Lilium longiflorum. LIM14-related 18kDa protein is also expressed in anthers of Tradescantia. This study showed that cytoplasmic granules whose surface was labeled as anti-LIM14 immunofluorescence organize tissue-specifically upon the anther development of Tradescantia. Small granules formed in microsporocytes and tapetum and grew in the tetrad. The granules disappeared from the microspores and tapetum after tetrad segregation. The granules re-formed at the stage of microspore division in the tapetum. They grew and increased in number, localizing around the pollen grains. The fluorescence from granules weakened gradually and the granules disappeared after 1.5 days before inflorescence. In the pollen grains, however, granules re-formed between microspore division and inflorescence stages and they increased in both size and number. The granules decrease and disappeared after pollen germination. PAS and iodo-starch reactions showed that the granules in the pollen grains contained starch and other polysaccharides. These results show that LIM 14-related protein is involved in the dynamics of starch during the development of male gametophyte.