These anthers continue to shed pollen so that their serial subculture yields pollen samples in different stages of andragenesis (haploid embryo/plantlet formation from pollen grains).Initially, isolated pollen grains were cultured either in hanging drops or on a filter paper raft placed on cultured anthers.
Subsequently, Nitsch and coworkers first replaced the nurse tissue by an extract of cultured anthers, and finally devised a completely synthetic medium far pollen culture the crucial ingredients of which were glutamine, L-serine and inositol. Successful pollen culture is reported far several species, e.g., tobacco, Datura, petunia, potato, barley, wheat, rice, maize, rapeseed, etc.
Pollen culture offers certain advantages aver anther culture due to the elimination of anther wall, e.g.,
(i) studies an differentiation and development are easier and mare precise,
(ii) no. callus formation can occur from wall tissue and
(iii) products from different pollen grains ordinarily do not get mixed up (this eliminates the risk of chimaera).