A Cytological Study on the Phosphorus Accumulating Tissues in the Gramineous Seeds

Abstract

The structure and distribution of globoids in protein bodies have been examined with light microscope as well as electron microscope. The size and frequency of globoids in aleurone and scutellar tissues, and total phosphorus content in embryos and endosperms indicated that the seeds could be divided into two distinct types. In the first type, a largc proportion of phosphorus was confined to the aleurone layer, although the scutellum as well as the aleurone layer were rich in phosphorus. In the second type, both the amount and the content of phosphorus in the scutellum were more as compared to the aleurone layer. The former type was found in the seeds of barley, oat, orchardgrass, rice, rye and wheat, and the latter was present in the seeds of barnyard millet, common millet, finger millet, Italian millet, Job's tear, maize, pearl millet and sorghum.