title: Pollen hydration status at dispersal: cytophysiological features and strategies.
abstract: The aim of this paper is to draw attention to partially hydrated pollen, namely, pollen grains having a high water content (> 30%); this type of pollen is more frequent than previously thought. Various cyto-physiological strategies are used to retain water during exposure and dispersal such as cytoplasm carbohydrates; in the absence of such strategies, fast pollination must be ensured, because uncontrolled loss of water leads to pollen death. On the other hand, a state of partial hydration allows a fast tube emission (even within 3-5 min). Several methods for determining the hydration status of pollen at anthesis are proposed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Siena University, 4 Via P.A. Mattioli, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nepi
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Franchi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pacini
mesh_terms: D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D019684:Magnoliopsida / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D011058:Pollen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D014867:Water