Fig. 3: miR2118 is involved in the maturation of the anther wall during post meiosis.

a–l Cross-section images of anthers of WT (a–d), mi-1 (e–h), and mi-2 (i–l). Panels depict anthers that were stained with Renaissance 2200 (left) and propidium iodide (right). Stage 1 is pre-meiosis, or primordial germ-cell initiation (a, e, and i); Stages 2–4 are during meiosis (b, f, and j); Stage 5 is the microspore development stage (c, g, and k); and Stage 6 is the bicellular pollen stage (d, h, and l). Tapetum defects were observed in mi-1 and mi-2 at Stages 5 and 6 after meiosis (g, h, k, and l). m–o Enlarged images of the anther wall that was stained with Renaissance 2200 of d, h, and l. Middle layers were retained at later stages, even at Stage 6, in both mi-1 and mi-2 compared to the Mi-collapse in the WT anther wall at Stage 5. Ep: Epidermis, En: endothecium, Mi: middle layer, Ta: tapetum, PMC: pollen mother cell, Msp: microspore. The white arrows indicate Mi. Yellow bars represent 10 μm.