Gametophytic transcription for acid phosphatases in pollen of Cucurbita species hybrids

A microslab isoelectric focusing gel is demonstrated, using single pollen grains from F₁ hybrids of Cucurbita species. When zymograms of these single pollen grains were stained to indicate the presence of acid phosphatase zones, it was seen that at least 11 out of 37, or 29.7 percent of such zones are controlled by loci that are transcribed in the microgametophyte. These results suggest that gametophytically transcribed loci may be fairly common and also that their investigation is now technically unchallenging.