INDEX

S.NO. CONTENT PAGE NO.

1 Intoduction 01
2 Structure and formation 02-06
3 Pollinaion 07-08
4 In the fossil record 09
5 Allergy to pollen 10
6 Forensic palynology 11
7 Spritual purpose 12
8 Pollen grain staning 13
9 Parasites 14
10 Bibliography 15
11 Links 16
 INTRODUCTION
Pollen grain is basically a Male Gamate. Pollen is a powdery
substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen
grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce
male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat
made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophytes
during the process of their movement from the stamens to
the pistil of flowering plants, or from the male cone to the
female cone of gymnosperms. If pollen lands on a compatible
pistil or female cone, it germinates, producing a pollen
tube that transfers the sperm to the ovule containing the
female gametophyte. Individual pollen grains are small
enough to require magnification to see detail.
The study of pollen is called palynology and is highly useful
in paleoecology, paleontology, archaeology, and forensics.
Pollen in plants is used for transferring haploid male genetic
material from the anther of a single flower to the stigma of
another in cross-pollination.
 In a case of self-pollination, this process takes place from the
anther of a flower to the stigma of the same flower.
Pollen is infrequently used as food and food supplement.
Because of agricultural practices, it is often contaminated by
agricultural pesticides.
 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
Pollen itself is not the male gamete. It is a gametophyte,
something that could be considered an entire organism,
which then produces the male gamete. Each pollen grain
contains vegetative (non-reproductive) cells (only a single cell
in most flowering plants but several in other seed plants) and
a generative (reproductive) cell. In flowering plants the
vegetative tube cell produces the pollen tube, and the
generative cell divides to form the two sperm nuclei.

Triporate pollen of  Oenothera speciosa Pollen of Lilium auratum

  showing single sulcus

. (monosulcate)

Arabis pollen has three colpi and

prominent surface structure.

FORMATION :- Pollen is produced in the microsporangia in
the male cone of a conifer or other gymnosperm or in the
anthers of an angiosperm flower. Pollen grains come in a
wide variety of shapes, sizes, and surface markings
characteristic of the species (see electron micrograph, right).
Pollen grains of pines, firs, and spruces are winged. The
smallest pollen grain, that of the forget-me-
not (Myosotis spp.), is 2.5-5 µm (0.005 mm) in diameter. Corn
pollen grains are large, about 90–100 µm. Most grass pollen
is around 20-25 µm.
In angiosperms, during flower development the anther is
composed of a mass of cells that appear undifferentiated,
except for a partially differentiated dermis. As the flower
develops, four groups of sporogenous cells form within the
anther. The fertile sporogenous cells are surrounded by
layers of sterile cells that grow into the wall of the pollen sac.
Some of the cells grow into nutritive cells that supply
nutrition for the microspores that form by meiotic division
from the sporogenous cells.
In a process called microsporogenesis, four
haploid microspores are produced from each diploid
sporogenous cell (microsporocyte, pollen mother cell
or meiocyte), after meiotic division. After the formation of
the four microspores, which are contained by callose walls,
the development of the pollen grain walls begins. The callose
wall is broken down by an enzyme called callase and the
freed pollen grains grow in size and develop their
characteristic shape and form a resistant outer wall called
the exine and an inner wall called the intine. The exine is
what is preserved in the fossil record. Two basic types of
microsporogenesis are recognised, simultaneous and
successive. In simultaneous microsporogenesis meiotic steps
I and II are completed before cytokinesis, whereas in
successive microsporogenesis cytokinesis follows. While
there may be a continuum with intermediate forms, the type
of microsporogenesis has systematic significance. The
predominant form amongst the monocots is successive, but
there are important exceptions.
During microgametogenesis, the unicellular microspores
undergo mitosis and develop into
mature microgametophytes containing the gametes. In some
flowering plants,germination of the pollen grain may begin
even before it leaves the microsporangium, with the
generative cell forming the two sperm cells.
STRUCTURE :- Except in the case of some submerged aquatic
plants, the mature pollen grain has a double wall. The
vegetative and generative cells are surrounded by a thin
delicate wall of unaltered cellulose called
the endospore or intine, and a tough resistant outer
cuticularized wall composed largely of sporopollenin called
the exospore or exine. The exine often bears spines or warts,
or is variously sculptured, and the character of the markings
is often of value for identifying genus, species, or even
cultivar or individual. The spines may be less than a micron in
length (spinulus, plural spinuli) referred to
as spinulose (scabrate), or longer than a micron (echina,
echinae) referred to as echinate. Various terms also describe
the sculpturing such as reticulate, a net like appearance
consisting of elements (murus, muri) separated from each
other by a lumen (plural lumina). These reticulations may
also be referred to as brochi.
The pollen wall protects the sperm while the pollen grain is
moving from the anther to the stigma; it protects the vital
genetic material from drying out and solar radiation. The
pollen grain surface is covered with waxes and proteins,
which are held in place by structures called sculpture
elements on the surface of the grain. The outer pollen wall,
which prevents the pollen grain from shrinking and crushing
the genetic material during desiccation, is composed of two
layers. These two layers are the tectum and the foot layer,
which is just above the intine. The tectum and foot layer are
separated by a region called the columella, which is
composed of strengthening rods. The outer wall is
constructed with a resistant biopolymer called sporopollenin.
The process of shrinking the grain is called harmomegathy.
Sulcate pollen has a furrow across the middle of what was
the outer face when the pollen grain was in its tetrad.Colpate
pollen has furrows other than across the middle of the outer
faces, and similarly may be described as polycolpate if more
than two. 
 POLLINATION

The transfer of pollen grains to the female reproductive

structure (pistil in angiosperms) is called pollination. This
transfer can be mediated by the wind, in which case the plant
is described as anemophilous (literally wind-loving).
Anemophilous plants typically produce great quantities of
very lightweight pollen grains, sometimes with air-sacs. Non-
flowering seed plants (e.g., pine trees) are characteristically
anemophilous. Anemophilous flowering plants generally have
inconspicuous flowers. Entomophilous (literally insect-loving)
plants produce pollen that is relatively heavy, sticky
and protein-rich, for dispersal by insect pollinators attracted
to their flowers. Many insects and some mites are specialized
to feed on pollen, and are called palynivores. In non-
flowering seed plants, pollen germinates in the pollen
chamber, located beneath the micropyle, underneath the
integuments of the ovule. A pollen tube is produced, which
grows into the nucellus to provide nutrients for the
developing sperm cells. Sperm cells
of Pinophyta and Gnetophyta are without flagella, and are
carried by the pollen tube, while those
of Cycadophyta and Ginkgophyta have many flagella.
When placed on the stigma of a flowering plant, under
favorable circumstances, a pollen grain puts forth a pollen
tube, which grows down the tissue of the style to the ovary,
and makes its way along the placenta, guided by projections
or hairs, to the micropyle of an ovule. The nucleus of the
tube cell has meanwhile passed into the tube, as does also
the generative nucleus, which divides (if it hasn't already) to
form two sperm cells. The sperm cells are carried to their
destination in the tip of the pollen tube. Double-strand
breaks in DNA that arise during pollen tube growth appear to
be efficiently repaired in the generative cell that carries the
male genomic information to be passed on to the next plant
generation. However, the vegetative cell that is responsible
for tube elongation appears to lack this DNA repair capability.
 IN THE FOSSIL RECORD
The sporopollenin outer sheath of pollen grains affords them
some resistance to the rigours of the fossilisation process
that destroy weaker objects; it is also produced in huge
quantities. There is an extensive fossil record of pollen grains,
often disassociated from their parent plant. The discipline of
palynology is devoted to the study of pollen, which can be
used both for biostratigraphy and to gain information about
the abundance and variety of plants alive — which can itself
yield important information about paleoclimates. Also, pollen
analysis has been widely used for reconstructing past
changes in vegetation and their associated drivers. Pollen is
first found in the fossil record in the
late Devonian period, but at that time it is indistinguishable
from spores. It increases in abundance until the present day.
 ALLERGY TO POLLEN
Generally, pollens that cause allergies are those of
anemophilous plants (pollen is dispersed by air currents.)
Such plants produce large quantities of lightweight pollen
(because wind dispersal is random and the likelihood of one
pollen grain landing on another flower is small), which can be
carried for great distances and are easily inhaled, bringing it
into contact with the sensitive nasal passages. Pollen allergies
are common in polar and temperate climate zones, where
production of pollen is seasonal. In the tropics pollen
production varies less by the season, and allergic reactions
less. Symptoms of pollen allergy include sneezing, itchy, or
runny nose, nasal congestion, red, itchy, and watery eyes.
Substances, including pollen, that cause allergies can trigger
asthma. A study found a 54% increased chance
of asthma attacks when exposed to pollen.
Treatment
Antihistamines are effective at treating mild cases of
pollinosis; this type of non-prescribed drugs
includes loratadine, cetirizine and chlorpheniramine. They do
not prevent the discharge of histamine, but it has been
proven that they do prevent a part of the chain reaction
activated by this biogenic amine, which considerably lowers
hay fever symptoms.
Decongestants can be administered in different ways such as
tablets and nasal sprays.
 PARASITES
The growing industries in pollen harvesting for human and
bee consumption rely on harvesting pollen baskets from
honey bees as they return to their hives using a pollen
trap.When this pollen has been tested for parasites, it has
been found that a multitude of viruses and eukaryotic
parasites are present in the pollen. It is currently unclear if
the parasites are introduced by the bee that collected the
pollen or if it is from the flower. Though this is not likely to
pose a risk to humans, it is a major issue for the bumblebee
rearing industry that relies on thousands of tonnes of honey
bee collected pollen per year. Several sterilization methods
have been employed, though no method has been 100%
effective at sterilisation without reducing the nutritional
value of the pollen.
 FORENSIC PALYNOLOGY
In forensic biology, pollen can tell a lot about where a
person or object has been, because regions of the world, or
even more particular locations such a certain set of bushes,
will have a distinctive collection of pollen species.Pollen
evidence can also reveal the season in which a particular
object picked up the pollen.Pollen has been used to trace
activity at mass graves in Bosnia,catch a burglar who
brushed against a Hypericum bush during a crime, and has
even been proposed as an additive for bullets to enable
tracking them.
 SPRITUAL PURPOSE
In some Native American religions, pollen was used
in prayers and rituals to symbolize life and renewal
by sanctifying objects, dancing grounds, trails,
and sandpaintings. It may also be sprinkled over heads or in
mouths. Many Navajo people believed the body
became holy when it traveled over a trail sprinkled with
pollen.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Simpson, Michael G. (2011). Plant Systematics. Academic

Press. ISBN 978-0-08-051404-8. Retrieved 12
February 2014.
 Singh, Gurcharan (2004). Plant Systematics: An Integrated
Approach. Science Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57808-351-0.
Retrieved 23 January 2014.
 Furness, Carol A.; Rudall, Paula J. (1999). "Inaperturate
Pollen in Monocotyledons". International Journal of Plant
Sciences. 160 (2): 395–
414. doi:10.1086/314129. JSTOR 314129. S2CID 83903452.
 "Pollen Grain Surface Pattern Terminology" (PDF). Quick
Reference Glossary with Illustrations. Florida Institute of
Technology: Center for Applied Biogeography. October
2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-08-11.
Retrieved 11 August 2019.
 LINKS
 Scholia has a topic profile for Pollen.
 Pollen and Spore Identification Literature
 Pollen micrographs at SEM and confocal microscope
 The flight of a pollen cloud
 PalDat (database comprising palynological data from a
variety of plant families)
 Pollen-Wiki - A digital Pollen-Atlas, retrieved 9 February
2018.
 YouTube video of pollen clouds from Juncus gerardii
plants