A STUDY OF PROTEIN BODIES DURING GERMINATION OF PEANUT (ARACHIS HYPOGAEA) SEED

Abstract

Bagley, Bill W., Joe H. Cherry, Mary L. Rollins, and Aaron M. Altschul. (Southern Regional Lab., U.S.D.A., New Orleans, La.) A study of protein bodies during germination of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) seed. Amer. Jour. Bot. 50(6) : 523–532. Illus. 1963.—Upon germination of peanut seed (Aracs nypoyaea) there is an ordered series of events leading to the degradation of storage protein in cotyledonary cells. In resting seed, the protein is stored in large bodies (protein bodies) about 5–10μ in diameter. As the seeds germinate, the protein bodies swell and develop cavities within. Later these swollen bodies break up into many fragments which are digested and disappear. The major changes in proteins as revealed by microscopy and by protein analysis occur between 4 and 9 days of germination. By 15 days, the parenchyma cells are empty of protein bodies or fragments, but they contain many small starch grains. In a given cell population, there is a wide range of protein‐body degradation, the degree of degradation being related to the distance from the nearest vascular bundle. In resting seed, there is a honeycomb‐like structure between and connected to the subcellular particles. After 2 days of germination this structure is no longer visibly intact.