Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, 1200 Sunnyside Ave., Lawrence, Kansas 66045 USA;
Am J Bot. 2002 Jun;89(6):1021-3. doi: 10.3732/ajb.89.6.1021.
The mean diameter of viable pollen grains is approximately 13 μm greater than the mean diameter of inviable grains in Mimulus guttatus. We show that this difference is large enough to be detected by particle counters and that these machines can be used to obtain a rapid estimate of pollen viability. While requiring a separate calibration, a size-based statistic is also strongly correlated with pollen viability in Collinsia verna. These results suggest that statistics derived from the size distribution of pollen grains may provide an alternative to more labor-intensive methods for estimating pollen viability, particularly in cases where inviability results from inbreeding depression or hybrid failure.
在双色金光菊中，有活力的花粉粒的平均直径比无活力花粉粒的平均直径大约大 13μm。我们表明，这种差异大到足以被颗粒计数器检测到，并且这些机器可以用来快速估计花粉活力。虽然需要单独校准，但基于大小的统计数据与弗吉尼亚琉璃苣的花粉活力也有很强的相关性。这些结果表明，花粉粒大小分布的统计数据可能为估计花粉活力提供一种替代更耗时的方法，特别是在不育性是由于近亲繁殖衰退或杂种失败引起的情况下。
