Anther proteome

In higher plants the development of the male gametophyte is a well-programmed and elaborate process that plays a crucial role in plant reproduction. Male gametophyte development takes place inside a highly differentiated male gametophytic organ, the stamen. A stamen is the male reproductive organ of plants and consists of an anther borne on a slender filament. The filament is a tube of vascular tissue that connects the anther to the flower and serves as a conduit for water and nutrients. Each anther has four elongated macrosporangia, or anther loculi. Four anther wall layers (the epidermis, the endothecium, the middle layer, and the tapetum) enclose a locule where the microsporegenesis took place (Figure 17.1). During anther development in angiosperms, a series of processes generates a set of cells that serve microspore production and dispersal. In the early stage of development, the anther consists of a mass of undifferentiated meristematic cells, which are surrounded by a partially differentiated epidermal cell layer. As development progresses, the archesporial cells appear at the four corners of the young anther and further differentiate into primary parietal cells and primary sporogenous cells. Later the primary parietal cells differentiate into endothecium, middle layer, and tapetum that envelop the core of the anther locule, whereas the primary sporogenous cells develop into diploid pollen mother cells (PMC).