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ULTRASTRUCTURE OF MAIZE ENDOSPERM SUSPENSION CULTURES
Author(s) -
Felker Frederick C.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.1002/j.1537-2197.1987.tb08795.x
Subject(s) - endosperm , biology , endoplasmic reticulum , microbiology and biotechnology , vacuole , ultrastructure , cytoplasm , endomembrane system , extracellular , cell culture , secretion , lipid droplet , golgi apparatus , biochemistry , botany , genetics
Suspension cultures derived from developing maize ( Zea mays L.) endosperm were examined by electron microscopy, after both glutaraldehyde‐OsO 4 and KMnO 4 fixation, and compared with intact endosperm. Tissue clumps consisted of interconnected cell clusters without any organization of the different cell types. The cultures were comprised of cells with dense cytoplasm and small vacuoles, large vacuolate cells, and cells in which storage products (starch, protein bodies, or lipid) accumulated. The endomembrane system of cultured cells was more highly developed than that of cells of the intact endosperm. In particular, arrays of smooth endoplasmic reticulum were seen only in the cultured cells. An abundance of endoplasmic reticulum, dictyosomes, and ribosomes is consistent with the recently reported extracellular secretion of enzymes by these cultures. Cell wall ingrowths, a characteristic of basal endosperm transfer cells, were observed occasionally in cultured cells, but cells with ingrowths had no histological organization. Some of the observed features may have resulted from perturbation of normal cellular events caused by the conditions of in vitro growth. These cultures are a useful tool for studying cellular mechanisms of protein secretion and storage product accumulation in developing maize endosperm.