South Korean scientists have succeeded in germinating plants simply by cultivating their pollen.

A team of researchers led by Professor Kim Moon-ja at Mokwon University’s Bioengineering Department said on Thursday that they have succeeded in germinating a local pepper by dividing the cells of its pollen and obtaining a large number of its germs.

Researchers say a more pure breed can be obtained through cell germination by single-cell pollen than by using multicellular somatic cells.

The plant cultivation experiment using pollen comprises the first such experiment in South Korea.