Despite their great economic importance, relatively little is known about bamboo sexual reproduction because they usually spread through rhizomes and have long intervals between flowering periods. Bambusa tuldoides is no exception; the intervals between flowering periods are about 23 years and often do not result in successful caryopsis production. The aim of the present work was to characterize Bambusa tuldoides sexual reproduction at three stages of flower development and investigate possible male sterility. Pollen was cultured onto several types of culture medium in order to encourage germination, but not a single of the thousands of observed pollen germinated under any condition. Anthers and microspores were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and optical microscopy techniques. Anther dehiscence appeared to be normal when compared to other species. In contrast, microspores began to develop abnormally starting as early as the first flower development stage: retraction of the cytoplasm and rupture of the nuclear and mitochondria membrane. As the interior machinery of the microspores degenerated, starch accumulated within numerous amyloplasts during stages two to four of flower development. The sporoderms of these microspores were similarly incomplete: though they possessed an exine, they lacked an intine. The results here obtained suggest that the non-viability of these abnormal pollen grains prevents the development of Bambusa tuldoides caryopses.

中文翻译：

---

Bambusa tuldoides Munro 雄性不育

尽管它们具有巨大的经济意义，但人们对竹子有性繁殖的了解相对较少，因为它们通常通过根茎传播并且开花期间隔很长。Bambusa tuldoides 也不例外。开花期之间的间隔大约为 23 年，并且通常不会导致成功的颖果生产。本工作的目的是在花发育的三个阶段表征 Bambusa tuldoides 有性繁殖，并调查可能的雄性不育。花粉被培养到几种类型的培养基上以促进发芽，但在任何条件下观察到的数以千计的花粉中没有一种会发芽。通过扫描电子显微镜、透射电子显微镜和光学显微镜技术分析花药和小孢子。与其他物种相比，花药开裂似乎是正常的。相比之下，小孢子早在第一个花发育阶段就开始异常发育：细胞质收缩和核膜和线粒体膜破裂。随着小孢子的内部机械退化，在花发育的第二到第四阶段，淀粉在众多淀粉体中积累。这些小孢子的孢子体也同样不完整：虽然它们有外壁，但缺乏内壁。这里获得的结果表明，这些异常花粉粒的无活力阻止了 Bambusa tuldoides caryopses 的发育。细胞质收缩和细胞核和线粒体膜破裂。随着小孢子的内部机械退化，在花发育的第二到第四阶段，淀粉在众多淀粉体中积累。这些小孢子的孢子体也同样不完整：虽然它们有外壁，但缺乏内壁。这里获得的结果表明，这些异常花粉粒的无活力阻止了 Bambusa tuldoides caryopses 的发育。细胞质收缩和细胞核和线粒体膜破裂。随着小孢子的内部机械退化，在花发育的第二到第四阶段，淀粉在众多淀粉体中积累。这些小孢子的孢子体也同样不完整：虽然它们有外壁，但缺乏内壁。这里获得的结果表明，这些异常花粉粒的非活力阻止了 Bambusa tuldoides caryopses 的发育。