Effects of the temperature decrease on the development of the anther wall and pollen grain in Oryza sativa L.

Abstract

The effect of decreasing temperature from 30/20 ºC to 16 ºC during the reproductive stage on the development of the anther and pollen in rice ‘Diamante-INIA’, ‘Brillante-INIA’ and ‘Zafiro-INIA’, was studied. The objectives were to determine the relative tolerance of cultivars to low temperature and to describe cellular and ultrastructural damages caused by temperature stress. Plants were grown at 30/20 °C, day/night (optimum temperature), and at panicle initiation some of these were moved to 16 °C until anthesis. Spikelets were obtained at tetrad, free microspores and mature pollen stages, and sections were prepared for light and transmission electron microscopy. Normal development of the four layers of the anther wall (epidermis, endothecium, middle layer and tapetum) and of pollen grains were observed at 30/20 °C, while at 16 °C tapetal hypertrophy, atrophied locules, malformed grains, delayed anthesis and reduced pollen viability occurred. ‘Diamante-INIA’ was the less tolerant cultivar at 16 °C and ‘Zafiro-INIA’ the most tolerant to temperature stress.