[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the submicroscopic structure and morphological characteristics of mulberry pollen. [Method] Mulberry pollen of seven cultivars were treated by glutaraldehyde fixing, alcohol gradient dehydration, freeze-drying and metal plating to observe the size and surface ornamentation under the scanning electron microscope (SEM). [Result] The pollen surface characteristics and ornamentation were clearly visible, indicating that this method is suitable for SEM observation of mulberry pollen; experimental mulberry pollen was nearly spher- ical, with two germination apertures and processes on aperture membrane; polar axis was 15.99-22.63 μm long, and equatorial axis was 14.98-20.78 μm long; the pollen volume of "Yu No.2' was the maximum, while that of "Jinxuan No.7' was the minimum; the surface of mulberry pollen showed smooth and tumor-like protuberance ornamentations, covered with different densities of particles. [Conclusion] Glutaralde- hyde fixative-alcohol gradient dehydration is an ideal method for morphological char- acteristics of mulberry pollen. This study may provide useful information for palynology identification of Morus plants or even species-level systematic classification.
展开▼
