Viral particles in developing pollen grains of Olea europaea

Abstract

Double-walled tubules containing rows of isodiametric virus particles were observed in developing pollen grains of Olea europaea L. cultivar Correggiolo. Sometimes the tubules are contained in another double-walled tubular structure or in a tubular endoplasmic reticulum cistern. The viruses are present in the cytoplasm from the microspore mother cell stage up to the microspore stage but just before the first haploid mitosis they are to be found only in the pores, inside the evaginations formed by the plasmalemma. During the last phase of pollen grain development, after the germinative pores are completed, the viruses disappear.