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Review
. 2009 Jan;149(1):14-26.
doi: 10.1104/pp.108.129437.

The development of endosperm in grasses

Paolo A Sabelli  1 , Brian A Larkins
Affiliations
Review

The development of endosperm in grasses

Paolo A Sabelli et al. Plant Physiol. 2009 Jan.
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Phases in endosperm development. Although this figure refers to maize, it is a good example of endosperm development in other grasses as well. A, Double fertilization, syncytium formation, and cellularization of the endosperm occur within 3 to 4 DAP. The pollen tube and sperm nuclei are shown in yellow, polar nuclei in the central cell of the female gametophyte and endosperm nuclei are shown in red, and the egg cell nucleus and embryo nuclei are shown in green. Outlines of the multicellular endosperm and embryo are drawn in red and green, respectively. Modified from Kiesselbach (1999) with permission. B, From about 4 to 20 DAP, the endosperm undergoes a phase of mitotic cell proliferation, followed (from around 8–10 DAP) by endoreduplication, as shown by flow-cytometric profiles obtained from 7-, 11-, and 19-DAP endosperms (red), and by PCD (starting around 16 DAP). The endoreduplication phase and part of the cell division phase coincide with a dramatic growth of the endosperm and the accumulation of storage compounds. The dynamics of key parameters during mid endosperm development, such as fresh weight (red line), nuclei number (blue line), mitotic index (brown line), and average DNA content (C value; green line), are shown at bottom. They are loosely based on the work of Engelen-Eigles et al. (2001) and only illustrate trends. Al, Aleurone; CSEn, central starchy endosperm; Em, embryo; En, endosperm; Nu, nucellus; Pe, pericarp; Pl, placentochalaza; SAl, subaleurone layer; TC, transfer cells. This panel is reproduced in part from Larkins et al. (2001) and Sabelli et al. (2005b), with permission.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Electron scanning microscopy image of developing maize endosperm illustrating cell walls (CW), starch granules (SG), and protein bodies (PB).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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