The utility of electrospun nanofibre mats for in vitro germination of Artabotrys hexapetalus pollen

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of electrospun fibre mats on in vitro pollen germination of Artabotrys hexapetalus (L.f.) Bhandari (synonym: A. odoratissimus R. Brown). There was no difference in the size of the pollen from two closely related stages of flower development, namely the yellow florets and yellowish orange florets. On agarbased medium supplemented with 20% sucrose, about 50% of the pollen from the yellowish orange florets germinated but only 25% of those from the yellow florets did. More pollen from the yellowish orange florets germinated in liquid medium than on agar-gelled medium but pollen tube elongation was greater in agar-gelled medium. Electrospinning of synthetic polymer solutions of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) or polylactic acid (PLA) was used to generate mats composed of nonwoven (randomly oriented) nanofibres as well as those composed of a mixture of nonwoven and aligned (PVDF4 and PLA4) nanofibres. Compared with liquid, agar medium, and other types of nanofibre mats, PVDF4 was found to be the best physical support substrate for germination of the pollen from the yellowish orange florets (70%) and tube growth (about 400% increase over that in liquid medium). Pollen germination was largely inhibited on all four types of 18 μm thick nanofibre mats but not on the 8 μm thick ones.