Male and Female Gametophyte Development in Cichorium intybus

Gametophyte development and embryogenesis of Cichorium intybus L. were studied. The flowers and buds, in different developmental stages, were removed, fixed in FAA(70), embedded in paraffin and sliced at 7-10 mu m. Staining was carried out with PAS and contrasted with Hematoxylin. Results showed that anther is ovoid-shaped and tetrasporangiated. Development of anther wall follows the dicotyledonous type, which is composed of an epidermal layer, an endothecium layer, one middle layer and tapetum. The tapetum is secretory type at the beginning and plasmodial type at the end of anther development. Microspore tetrads are tetragonal. Pollen grains are spherical, tricolpate and bi-cellular at the mature form. Ovule is anatropous, unitegmic and tenuinucellate. Development of ovule starts with the formation of primordium. In this primordium, an archeosporial cell produces a megaspore mother cell, which undergoes meiosis, forming a linear tetrad. The micropylar cell is functional megaspore that survives and will function in megagametophyte development. Embryo sac development is of the Polygonum type. The mature embryo sac is composed of 7 cells, one central cell contained polar nuclei or secondary nucleus, two synergids and one egg cell that formed egg apparatus and three antipodal cells that are degenerate in the mature embryo sac before fertilization. (C) 2011 Friends Science Publishers