Abstract:

APⅣ is a rice mutant that develops poly-egg apparatus in its embryo sac. All the eggs that make up the poly-egg apparatus can be fertilized respectively resulting in the development of polyembryony. The routes taken in the development of polyembryony appear to fall mainly into three variant polygonum pattern types, designated as 5-2-1 , 5-3-0 and 6-2-0 types. Out of the embryo sacs of APⅣ studied about 50% exhibited variant polygonum type with associated abnormal nuclear behavior and microtubule organizational changes. Some of the major abnormal features shown by the three variant polygonum types were described and they included the following: For the 5-2-1 type At the beginning of the four-nucleate embryo sac development, one pair of nuclei became located to the micropylar end and the other pair to the chalazal end. As embryo sac further developed, long connecting microtubule (MT) bundles that existed between the two nuclei in the chalazal end play a role in the movement and positioning of that nucleus. As a result of the activities of these MT, one of the nuclei in the chalazal end moved to the micropylar end resulting in the micropylar end having three nuclei and the chalazal end only one. For the 5-3-0 type In the two-nucleate embryo sac of the 5-3-0 type, one nucleus remained at the micro-pylar end, while the other one became located near the central region. In the four-nucleate embryo sac, the pair of nuclei aligned in parallel to the micropylar-chalazal axis often having one of its nuclei relocated to the micropylar end as a result of associated MT activities. For the 6-2-0 type All the nuclei in the megaspore, two- and four-nucleate embryo sacs became located to the micropylar end. At the early stages of the eight-nucleate embryo sac development, the two nuclei in the central region of the embryo sac (originally at the micropylar end) became polar nuclei. All the other nuclei remained at the micropylar end were surrounded by reticulate MT. The relationship between abnormal behavior of nuclei and MT organi-zation in the development of rice embryo sac was discussed.

Key words: rice (Oryza sativa), embryo sac, mutant, polyembryony