Naphthalene induced “Cross-Talk” between pollen mother cells in Vicia faba L. plants

A cytomixis is a common event that affects the male gametogenesis process and is influenced by several factors. Despite the fact that cytomixis has been documented earlier, there are still some unanswered questions about the origins, significance, and genetic regulation of cytomixis. The transmigration of genetic materials between pollen mother cells (PMCs), via cytoplasmic channel and direct fusion, was detected during investigated meiosis division in naphthalene (NAP) induced Vicia faba L. plants with 1,3,5 and 7 g/L. Furthermore, along with cytomixis, a variety of chromosomal abnormalities were seen, such as chromosomal stickiness, laggards, chromosomal bridges, uneven chromosomal separation, micronuclei formation, and chromosomal loss accompanied with meiotic index reduction. Cytomixis is assumed to be the cause of a significant portion of deformed pollen, which led to pollen sterility. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the post-meiotic product was significantly impacted by naphthalene induction. There were irregular sporads like triads, dyads, monads, and polyads as well as ordinary tetrads. The largest chromosomal aberrations were correlated with higher amounts of mutagenic agent application. We also noticed that the number of aborted seed and ovules was significantly affected at higher concentrations of the NAP applications. It is evident that cytomixis and meiotic abnormalities affect the percentage of pollen fertility, highlighting the association between this parameter and the occurrence of cytomixis. Our results demonstrate the NAP toxicity are almost the only factors identified in this study as contributing to cytomixis. Cytomixis may result in evolutionary significances as it can produce pollen grains with diverse genetic content. This could have an impact on evolution and could be beneficial for projects aimed at agricultural progress.