Neutral sugar composition of pollen tube walls of Lilium longiflorum

The tube walls of lily grown in vivo (in the stylar canal) contain more neutral sugars than the walls of pollen grains and the cell walls of roots. Pollen tubes grown in vitro are intermediate. Besides neutral sugars, P-1,3- and p-l,4-glucans, uronic acids and proteins are found. In vivo grown tube walls contain much more arabinose, galactose and glucose, and much less xylose than pollen grain walls and root walls. The in vitro grown pollen tube walls are slightly lower in arabinose, galactose and glucose, and higher in xylose content than in vivo grown pollen tubes. The ratio glucose/arabmose is much higher in the walls of in vitro grown pollen tubes, than in roots, pollen grains or in vivo grown pollen tubes. No difference was found in the sugar composition between compatible and incompatible lily pollen tube walls. Some differences were found between the wall composing neutral sugars of pollen tube walls of the cultivars (Mount Everest and Arai 5), indicating genotype controlled tube wall composition.