The endosperm of maize (Zea mays) seeds contains severa1 classes of alcohol-soluble storage proteins called zeins, which together make up nearly 50% of the total seed protein content. The abundance of the zeins and their low content of the essential amino acid Lys is responsible for the relatively poor nutritional quality of maize protein. However, zeins rich in other nutritionally important am...

Influences on viability and germination of seeds have been studied intensively for many years, particularly for the numer-ous commercially important agricultural, ornamental, and timber species. High germinating seed lots may differ substantially in field emergence when sown at the same time in the same field, and/or may differ in performance after storage in the same environment or transport t...

Rice seed storage proteins accumulate in two types of protein body (PB-I and PB-II) that are nutrient sources for animals. PB-I is indigestible and negatively affects rice protein quality. To improve the nutritional value of rice seeds we are aiming to engineer the composition and accumulation of endogenous seed storage proteins. In this study we generated transgenic rice plants in which 13 kD ...

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) seeds have poor shelf life and exhibit thermoinhibition (fail to germinate) above ∼25°C. Seed priming (controlled hydration followed by drying) alleviates thermoinhibition by increasing the maximum germination temperature, but reduces lettuce seed longevity. Controlled deterioration (CD) or accelerated ageing storage conditions (i.e. elevated temperature and relative...

Macaw palm (Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. ex Mart.) is a tropical species with multiple uses, including oil supply for biodiesel production. However, structural and physiological studies of the seed are still scarce, as well as in vitro propagation techniques. The aim of this study was to characterize the anatomy, histochemistry and ultrastructure of the seed and the in vitro somatic embryo ...

Seed maturation or seed filling is a phase of development that plays a major role in the storage reserve composition of a seed. In many plant seeds photosynthesis plays a major role in this process, although oilseeds, such as castor (Ricinus communis), are capable of accumulating oil without the benefit of photophosphorylation to augment energy demands. To characterize seed filling in castor, a...

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a primary global food cereal. However, when compared to wheat, rice has poor food processing qualities. Dough that is made from rice flour has low viscoelasticity because rice seed lacks storage proteins that are comparable to gluten protein from wheat. Thus, current research efforts aim to improve rice flour processing qualities through the transgenic expression of vi...

The seed consists of several layers of specialized cell-types that divide and differentiate following a highly regulated programme in time and space. A cytological approach was undertaken in order to study the histo-differentiation at mid-embryogenesis in Medicago truncatula as a model legume, and in Pisum sativum using serial sections of embedded immature seed. Little published information is ...

Enhancement of salinity tolerance during seed germination is very important for direct seeding in rice. In this study, the salt-tolerant japonica landrace Jiucaiqing was used to determine the regulators that are involved in seed imbibition under salt stress. Briefly, the comparative proteomic analysis was conducted between dry (0 h) and imbibed (24 h) seeds with 150 mM NaCl. Under salt stress, ...

A detailed knowledge of storage reserve accumulation in developing seeds can provide vital information to create strategies for improving the lipid content as well as the natural value of castor (Ricinus communis L.) crop. After hand pollination (female flowers-tagged), seed filling (lipid and protein accumulation) in castor bean is initiated as early as 7 days after pollination (DAP). Accumula...