[Inorganic ion dynamics in the microspore and pollen grain of tobacco during the development of the male gametophyte].

We studied the dynamics of mobile potassium, chloride, and nitrate ions during development of the micro-spore and differentiation of the pollen grain in Nicotiana tabacum L. by measuring their concentration in aqueous extracts from cells destroyed by freezing-thawing using ion-selective electrodes. Stage-specific changes in the ion content and intracellular concentration in the male gametophyte were found. A relationship of the dynamics of ions to growth processes and changes in metabolic activity during gametophytogenesis has been discussed. The changes in the potassium and chloride ion concentrations have been interpreted as regulatory changes controlling protein synthesis in the pollen grain vegetative cell.