Module: | Pre-fertilization: Micro/Megasporogenesis
Q34: Consider the following statements regarding pollen allergy and artificial preservation:
1. Parthenium, commonly known as carrot grass, is an introduced weed in India that causes severe pollen allergy and asthma.
2. Pollen grains can be preserved for years by storing them in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of minus 196 degrees Celsius.
3. Cryopreserved pollen is practically useless for modern crop breeding programs because freezing destroys the generative cell.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
2. Pollen grains can be preserved for years by storing them in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of minus 196 degrees Celsius.
3. Cryopreserved pollen is practically useless for modern crop breeding programs because freezing destroys the generative cell.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
✅ Correct Answer: A
The correct option is A. Statements 1 and 2 are correct, while Statement 3 is incorrect.
Pollen grains of many species, particularly those that are wind-pollinated and produced in massive quantities, contain proteins that act as severe aeroallergens.
Parthenium hysterophorus (carrot grass), which came into India as a contaminant with imported wheat, has become ubiquitous and is a major cause of respiratory afflictions like asthma and bronchitis.
To combat the natural loss of viability in agriculturally important pollen, scientists use cryopreservation.
Structurally, the pollen is dehydrated to an optimal level and stored in liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Celsius.
Statement 3 is completely false because the precise causal mechanism of cryopreservation suspends metabolic activity without forming lethal intracellular ice crystals, perfectly preserving the viability of the generative cell.
These pollen banks are therefore highly essential for delayed or international artificial hybridization programs.
Pollen grains of many species, particularly those that are wind-pollinated and produced in massive quantities, contain proteins that act as severe aeroallergens.
Parthenium hysterophorus (carrot grass), which came into India as a contaminant with imported wheat, has become ubiquitous and is a major cause of respiratory afflictions like asthma and bronchitis.
To combat the natural loss of viability in agriculturally important pollen, scientists use cryopreservation.
Structurally, the pollen is dehydrated to an optimal level and stored in liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Celsius.
Statement 3 is completely false because the precise causal mechanism of cryopreservation suspends metabolic activity without forming lethal intracellular ice crystals, perfectly preserving the viability of the generative cell.
These pollen banks are therefore highly essential for delayed or international artificial hybridization programs.