Pollen-pistil interactions in interspecific crosses of Populus (sections Aigeiros and Leuce): pollen adhesion, hydration and callose responses.

Intersectional crosses between species of sections Aigeiros (Populus deltoides, P. X euramericana or P. nigra) and Leuce (P. alba or P. tremuloides) are known to be reciprocally incompatible. The site of pollen tube arrest is on the stigma surface in pollinations between pistils of section Leuce and pollen of section Aigeiros; tubes failed to penetrate the stigma surface. In reciprocal matings, pollen of section Leuce germinated and tubes penetrated the stigma and style, where arrest occurred. Rejection may be accompanied by swelling of the tube tips, and callose plug formation. In the cross between P. deltoides and P. alba a callose response was detected in the cell walls of the transmitting tissue, adjacent to the rejected pollen tubes.