Establishment of in vitro pollen germination system in C4 model plant Foxtail Millet

Abstract The pollen development and germination are critical stages for sexual reproduction in plants, this process has great potential application for improve grain yield in crops. In this study, the germination system of foxtail millet pollen was established, and it was found that culture temperature and time were the key factors for pollen germination, among which 22℃ and 30 min may be the best conditions for pollen germination, and the top of the pollen tube would expand if the culture temperature was too high. We also found that the time required for pollen germination of foxtail millet was much shorter than that of other cereals, which provided a new way for us to study the stress resistance of foxtail millet from the perspective of reproductive development. This system may provide significant guidance for the application of male sterility or cross breeding.