Early development of pollen chamber in Ginkgo biloba Ovule

The early stage of pollen chamber development in ovule and the cytological mechanism of nucellar cell death were studied in Ginkgo biloba L. DNA ladder appearance and TUNEL assay demonstrated that the nucellar cell death, doomed to bring about pollen chamber formation, was a process of programmed cell death (PCD). A spatial distribution of PCD was visualized during the development of pollen chamber. Together with the observation under the scanning electron microscope, these results have revealed that the early developmental pattern of pollen chamber consists of four phases. Firstly, several layers of the nucellar cells at the micropylar and elongate longitudinally. Thereafter, the uppermost layer of the nucellar cells at the micropylar end initiate PCD; and the nucellar cell death extends in a basally and laterally oriented direction to form a cavity. Finally, the epidermal cells at the micropylar end detach from the other epidermis by dehiscence, bringing about the opening of the pollen chamber. The early development of pollen chamber begins sometime after the stage of megasporocyte and continues by the time of the formation of megaspore tetrad, and finally completes at the stage of development of female gametophyte. This shows a synchronous development of megaspore and pollen chamber.