title: From the anther to the proctodeum: Pear (Pyrus communis) pollen digestion in Osmia cornuta larvae.
abstract: Modifications of the pollen grains of Pyrus communis Linneaus that occur during the digestion by Osmia cornuta (Latreille) larvae were studied histochemically. We compared the features of the pollen grains found in the anthers, in the larval cell provisions and in the alimentary canal of the 5th instar larvae. Modifications were already evident in the provisions and consisted of protoplast protrusions through the apertures and a decrease in the number of starch-containing pollen grains. After pollen grains were ingested by the larvae, the protoplast appeared retracted from the pollen wall. Pollen digestion began in the anterior part of the midgut, where we observed: (1) disorganised intine at the apertures; (2) disappearance of DAPI staining of nuclear pollen DNA; (3) fewer pollen grains containing starch than in the anthers; (4) some empty pollen grains. Pollen grains in the proctodeum appeared extremely compressed and crushed. Some grains appeared to be unaffected by the digestive process. We hypothesise that the protrusion of the intine and of the protoplast from the apertures in bee provisions could be considered a kind of pre-treatment necessary to initiate the digestion process in the larval alimentary canal.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali "G. Sarfatti", Università degli Studi di Siena, Via P. A. Mattioli 4, 53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nepi
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cresti
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maccagnani
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ladurner
authors.forename: Ettore
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pacini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D004063:Digestion / Q000502:physiology*; D035264:Flowers / Q000166:cytology; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D011058:Pollen / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D031989:Pyrus