PJB-2017-231
A COMPARISON STUDY OF PERMEABLE AND IMPERMEABLE SEED COATS OF LEGUME SEED CROPS REVEALS THE PERMEABILITY RELATED STRUCTURE DIFFERENCE
ZHIHUI LUAN, JIMIN ZHAO, DIANKUN SHAO, DAOWEI ZHOU, LIHUI ZHANG, WEI ZHENG5 AND QI SUN
Abstract
Impermeability of Legume seeds is commonly related to physicaldormancy, which is useful for seed preservation but problematical for the soybean food industry. The primary aim of this study was tocharacterize the structure difference between permeable and impermeable seed coats, revealing thewater-controlling structures and demonstrating the water uptake process. Threemeasurements of water uptakefor four Legume species were carried out. The general anatomy of micropyle and seed coat were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Dye tracking was carried out to investigate the pathway of water movement during imbibition. The mature seed coat of four species contained three layers of cells. SEM observationsrevealed that the impermeable coat differs from the permeable one. Layer thickness has no direct relationship to the permeability of Legume seeds. The micropyle opening could be observed in permeable seed coats. Osteosclereids could impede the uptake of water; the layer of the osteosclereid near the embryo is hydrophilic and distal sideis hydrophobic. The present research provided a varietyof information related to the permeability of Legume seeds. The coat structures of permeable and impermeable micropyles are different in several aspects. A novel finding is that the outer surface of the osteosclereid layer is essential to permeability.
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