[Pollinator] Separating pollen grains from anthers and petals for counting.

[Jake Francis]

Hello all,

I am hoping to pick your collective minds about an issue I have been having
quantifying pollen grains offered on flowers.  I am following the flower
processing methods of Harder (1990) and submersing floral parts in 70%
ethanol and sonicating using an immersion sonicator.  I have attempted a
range of sonication durations and intensities bracketing those suggested by
Harder, but am still finding numerous pollen grains attached to anther
tissues and petals (see attached photos).

Is there an alternate process for separating pollen from flower parts that
anyone has encountered in the past (perhaps chemical digestion of floral
tissues or alternative sonication methods) that the list would be willing
to share?

Best,
Jake Francis

-- 
Graduate Student-Leonard Lab
Department of Biology​-Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
Biology
University of Nevada Reno
jacobsfrancis.wordpress.com
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