Comparative Study on Pollen Viability of Camellia oleifera at Four Ploidy Levels

Oil tea (Camellia oleifera Abel.) is one of the most important woody edible oil tree species in China, with intraspecific polyploid. In order to study the variation in pollen size and vigor of C. oleifera at ploidy level, four ploidy covers a total of 32 types of Camellia pollens as the material for the experiment. The results showed that the pollen sizes of diploid, tetraploid, hexaploidy, and octaploid were positively correlated with the ploidy level. Pollen viability of C. oleifera was determined by fluorescein diacetate (FDA) dye solution staining and medium containing 10% sucrose, 0.01% boric acid, and 1% agar germination in vitro, which indicated that the pollen viability and germination rate of the hexaploid were relatively high among the four ploidy levels, at 79.69% and 71.78% respectively. The pollen vigor of diploid NR-3, tetraploid DP43, hexaploid CJ-12, and octoploid YNYC-1 was higher than that of other materials with the same ploidy level. Knowledge of different ploidy pollen sizes and pollen viability provides basic information for formulating pollen breeding plans and pollination methods of C. oleifera.

Automated summary

Oil tea (Camellia oleifera Abel.) is an important woody edible oil tree in China with intraspecific polyploid. The study found that pollen size is positively correlated with ploidy level in oil tea, and the hexaploid had relatively high pollen viability. This knowledge provides basic information for breeding plans and pollination methods of oil tea.