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Query: UMLS:C0277787 (stigma)
 13,352 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In plant reproduction, pollination is an essential process that delivers the sperm through specialized extracellular matrices (ECM) of the pistil to the ovule. Although specific mechanisms of guidance for pollen tubes through the pistil are not known, the female tissues play a critical role in this event. Many studies have documented the existence of diffusible chemotropic factors in the lily stigma that can induce pollen tube chemotropism in vitro, but no molecules have been isolated to date. In this study, we identified a chemotropic compound from the stigma by use of biochemical methods. We purified a lily stigma protein that is active in an in vitro chemotropism assay by using cation exchange, gel filtration, and HPLC. Tryptic digestion of the protein yielded peptides that identified the protein as a plantacyanin (basic blue protein), and this was confirmed by cloning the cDNA from the lily stigma. Plantacyanins are small cell wall proteins of unknown function. The measured molecular mass by electrospray ionization ion source MS is 9898 Da, and the molecular mass of the mature protein (calculated from the cDNA) is 9900.2 Da. Activity of the lily plantacyanin (named chemocyanin) is enhanced in the presence of stigma/stylar cysteine-rich adhesin, previously identified as a pollen tube adhesin in the lily style.
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PMID:Chemocyanin, a small basic protein from the lily stigma, induces pollen tube chemotropism. 1467 26

The success of plant reproduction depends on pollen-pistil interactions occurring at the stigma/style. These interactions vary depending on the stigma type: wet or dry. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) represents a model of wet stigma, and its stigmas/styles express genes to accomplish the appropriate functions. For a large-scale study of gene expression during tobacco pistil development and preparation for pollination, we generated 11,216 high-quality expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from stigmas/styles and created the TOBEST database. These ESTs were assembled in 6,177 clusters, from which 52.1% are pistil transcripts/genes of unknown function. The 21 clusters with the highest number of ESTs (putative higher expression levels) correspond to genes associated with defense mechanisms or pollen-pistil interactions. The database analysis unraveled tobacco sequences homologous to the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genes involved in specifying pistil identity or determining normal pistil morphology and function. Additionally, 782 independent clusters were examined by macroarray, revealing 46 stigma/style preferentially expressed genes. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction experiments validated the pistil-preferential expression for nine out of 10 genes tested. A search for these 46 genes in the Arabidopsis pistil data sets demonstrated that only 11 sequences, with putative equivalent molecular functions, are expressed in this dry stigma species. The reverse search for the Arabidopsis pistil genes in the TOBEST exposed a partial overlap between these dry and wet stigma transcriptomes. The TOBEST represents the most extensive survey of gene expression in the stigmas/styles of wet stigma plants, and our results indicate that wet and dry stigmas/styles express common as well as distinct genes in preparation for the pollination process.
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PMID:Analysis of the Nicotiana tabacum stigma/style transcriptome reveals gene expression differences between wet and dry stigma species. 1905 50

Pollination in species with dry stigmas begins with the hydration of desiccated pollen grains on the stigma, a highly regulated process involving the proteins and lipids of the pollen coat and stigma cuticle. Self-incompatible species of the Brassicaceae block pollen hydration, and while the early signaling steps of the self-incompatibility response are well studied, the precise mechanisms controlling pollen hydration are poorly understood. Both lipids and proteins are important for hydration; loss of pollen coat lipids and proteins results in defective or delayed hydration on the stigma surface. Here, we examine the role of the pollen coat protein extracellular lipase 4 (EXL4), in the initial steps of pollination, namely hydration on the stigma. We identify a mutant allele, exl4-1, that shows a reduced rate of pollen hydration. exl4-1 pollen is normal with respect to pollen morphology and the downstream steps in pollination, including pollen tube germination, growth, and fertilization of ovules. However, owing to the delay in hydration, exl4-1 pollen is at a disadvantage when competed with wild-type pollen. EXL4 also functions in combination with GRP17 to promote the initiation of hydration. EXL4 is similar to GDSL lipases, and we show that it functions in hydrolyzing ester bonds. We report a previously unknown function for EXL4, an abundant pollen coat protein, in promoting pollen hydration on the stigma. Our results indicate that changes in lipid composition at the pollen-stigma interface, possibly mediated by EXLs, are required for efficient pollination in species with dry stigmas.
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PMID:The extracellular lipase EXL4 is required for efficient hydration of Arabidopsis pollen. 2003 40

A cDNA encoding a small lysine-rich protein of unknown function was identified in a tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) stigma/style suppression subtractive hybridization cDNA library. After its characterization, the corresponding gene was designated stigma/style cell cycle inhibitor 1 (SCI1). Fluorescence microscopy with an SCI1-GFP protein fusion demonstrated its nuclear localization, which was confined to the interchromatic region. Real-time RT-PCR and in situ hybridization experiments showed that SCI1 is stigma/style-specific and developmentally regulated. SCI1 RNAi knockdown and overexpression plants had stigmas/styles with remarkably enlarged and reduced areas, respectively, which was attributable to differences in cell numbers. These results indicate that SCI1 is a tissue-specific negative cell cycle regulator. The differences in cell division had an effect on the timing of the differentiation of the stigmatic papillar cells, suggesting that their differentiation is coupled to stigma cell divisions. This is consistent with a role for SCI1 in triggering differentiation through cell proliferation control. Our results revealed that SCI1 is a novel tissue-specific gene that controls cell proliferation/differentiation, probably as a component of a developmental signal transduction pathway.
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PMID:Stigma/style cell cycle inhibitor 1 (SCI1), a tissue-specific cell cycle regulator that controls upper pistil development. 2156 56