Effect of mercury on pollen germination and tube growth in Lilium longiflorum

Pollen development and germination were adversely affected by the presence of mercury, whereas low-concentrations stimulated the whole procedure. Mercury caused morphological anomalies during the tube growth, characterized by irregularly increasing diameters and swelling tips. The main effect was the anomalous cell wall formation at the tip where a substantial number of organelles were found reducing the secretory vesicles. The dense organelle concentration caused a significant reduction of cytoplasmic movement integrity, and the cytosol streaming was gradually reduced or stopped completely. Electron dense, multilamellar myelin-like structures (MMS) of membranous material were frequently present, in close contact with plasmalemma or away from it. A loose network of fibrillar material and spherical aggregates mostly at the tip region were observed which progressively were loosened into the surrounding medium. Elevated mercury concentrations can affect plant reproduction, resulting in anomalies in gamete development and consequently loss of plant biodiversity.