Figure 2

Congo Red fluorescence provides a semi-quantitative proxy for pollen tube extension. The effect of sodium azide (A-B) or DNJ-Gal on pollen tube extension (5 hours) was measured using Congo Red fluorescence (A,C) or microscopy (B,D). A,C) Fluorescence (arbitrary units; excitation: 470 nm, emission: 600 nm) is plotted against concentration of compound, 2% DMSO and 10% DMSO controls are included. Error bars represent the standard deviation of at least three replicate experiments. B,D) To compare Congo Red fluorescence with microscopy measurements, the % reduction in tube extension compared to the 2% DMSO control was calculated for each method and was plotted against compound concentration. Error bars for tube length are based on the standard deviations of the mean tube lengths measured in at least two separate experiments.