The ecological and reproductive implications of pollen allelopathy in plants: A review
The ecological and reproductive implications of pollen allelopathy in plants: A review
- Author(s) Satyajit Oraon, Sanjit Konra, Soumitra Pal and Subrata Mondal
- Year: 2024
- Month: March
- Volume: 61
- Pages: 139-152
Pollen allelopathy positively or negatively influences the fertilization of plants and has great significance from ecological perspectives. The release of allelochemicals from foreign pollen grains on the stigmatic surface obstructs the processes of fertilisation, seed establishment, tube formation, stigma receptivity, and pollen germination. So far, pollen allelopathy has received little attention and still a growing topic of ecological studies. Therefore, a literature review was undertaken to provide the valuable information regarding the ecological and reproductive implications of pollen allelopathy, heterospecific pollen transfer mechanisms of allelopathic anemophilous and entomophilous plants, and to shed light on the biochemistry and mode of action of allelochemicals. The majority of entomophilous plants share pollinators within communities, and heterospecific pollen transfer by both anemophilous and entomophilous plants causes a reduction in their reproductive success, like pollen germination, tube development, ovule maturation and seed set. For detailed study of pollen allelopathy, a few factors should be considered like metrological parameters, distance travelled by pollen, pollen viability, and stigma receptivity during foreign pollen deposition. A thorough understanding of the biochemical and enzymatic processes that occur after foreign pollen is deposited on the native stigma will open up new perspectives on plant reproduction. Pollen allelochemicals, which have important significance as biocontrol agents for the maintenance of agroecosystems, need to be identified and characterised. The ecological aspects of pollen allelopathy may be well understood with the help of field studies.
