Membrane recycling and the control of secretory activity in pollen tubes

Abstract

Pollen tubes of Tradescantia growing on media containing 10⁻³M-Ca²⁺ and 10⁻²M-Ca²⁺ exhibit growth rates of 28 μm min⁻¹ and 7 μm min⁻¹, respectively. The rates of vesicle production by the dictyosomes in these tubes were determined from the rates at which vesicles accumulated in the cytoplasm after treatment with cytochalasin D. Although the vesicle requirements for these two growth rates are considerably different, it was found that vesicle production rates were the same. The results indicate that, in pollen tubes, membrane recycling is occurring and that dictyosome activity is not regulated according to the vesicle requirements for tube growth.