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Programmed cell death during development of cowpea ( V igna unguiculata ( L .) W alp.) seed coat
Author(s) -
LIMA NATHÁLIA BASTOS,
TRINDADE FERNANDA GOMES,
CUNHA MAURA,
OLIVEIRA ANTÔNIA ELENIR AMÂNCIO,
TOPPING JENNIFER,
LINDSEY KEITH,
FERNANDES KÁTIA VALEVSKI SALES
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/pce.12432
Subject(s) - vacuole , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , vigna , programmed cell death , germination , cytoplasm , coat , embryogenesis , embryo , dormancy , botany , apoptosis , biochemistry , paleontology
Abstract The seed coat develops primarily from maternal tissues and comprises multiple cell layers at maturity, providing a metabolically dynamic interface between the developing embryo and the environment during embryogenesis, dormancy and germination of seeds. Seed coat development involves dramatic cellular changes, and the aim of this research was to investigate the role of programmed cell death ( PCD ) events during the development of seed coats of cowpea [ V igna unguiculata ( L .) W alp.]. We demonstrate that cells of the developing cowpea seed coats undergo a programme of autolytic cell death, detected as cellular morphological changes in nuclei, mitochondria, chloroplasts and vacuoles, DNA fragmentation and oligonucleosome accumulation in the cytoplasm, and loss of membrane viability. We show for the first time that classes 6 and 8 caspase‐like enzymes are active during seed coat development, and that these activities may be compartmentalized by translocation between vacuoles and cytoplasm during PCD events.