Pollen and Biodiversity

During the last decade progress in our understanding of the biology of pollen has been very rapid; the emphasis has shifted from structural aspects to functional aspects of pollen. Large number of investigators have been supplementing morphological studies with physiological and biochemical investigations. Such studies have begun to lead towards an understanding of the structure of the pollen in relation to its function. Although a few reviews have appeared on pollen during 1971-1975, they are confined to certain specialized aspects of pollen, and thus there has been a need for a comprehensive account covering many, if not all aspects of pollen. The authors have attempted to present an integrated account on the development, viablity, sterility, storage and germination of pollen with an emphasis on investigations during the last decade. The literature (covered up to July 1977), includes over 350 references. We hope that this booklet will be useful to postgraduate students, teachers and research workers in reproductive biology of flowering plants.