Abstract: Ultrastructure of microfilaments in pollen grains and pollen tubes of Hosta ventricosa (=H. coerulea) was investigated. Results indicate that microfilaments with conventional chemical fixation are preserved only in pollen grains, but destroyed in pollen tubes. Microfilaments treated with phalloidin before chemical fixation are found preserved in pollen tubes. In pollen grains a pronounced organization of parallel microfilaments appeared in bundles with its distribution characteristics is always restricted to their functional domains where bundles were in close contact with the vegetative nucleus. In young pollen tubes cytoplasmic bundles of microfilaments appeared also to pass close to the surface of mitochondria, plastids, endoplasmic reticulum, vesicles and small vacuoles, and always associated with lipid bodies. These findings strongly indicate that there is a relationship between microfilaments and the movement of vegetative nucleus and other organelles in the germination of pollen grains and in the growth of pollen tubes.

Key words: Microfilament, Pollen grain, Pollen tube, Ultrastructure, Hosta ventricosa (=H. coerulea)