Permeability of seed coats to water as related to drying conditions and metabolism of phenolics [Wild peas, Pisum elatius, Pisum fulvum]

The seed coat of Pisum elatius is normally impermeable to water. When seeds are dried in the absence of oxygen their coats are totally permeable to water. Structural differences are observed between permeable and impermeable seed coats. In the genus Pisum, species with normally impermeable seed coat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPlant physiology (Bethesda) Vol. 54; no. 6; pp. 817 - 820
Main Authors Irith Marbach, Mayer, Alfred M.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Society of Plant Physiologists 01.12.1974
Subjects
Air
Catechols
Cotyledons
Drying
Nitrogen
Oxidases
Oxygen
Peas
Seeds
Testa
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The seed coat of Pisum elatius is normally impermeable to water. When seeds are dried in the absence of oxygen their coats are totally permeable to water. Structural differences are observed between permeable and impermeable seed coats. In the genus Pisum, species with normally impermeable seed coats have a high content of phenolics and of catechol oxidase, while seed coats of P. sativum contain very little catechol oxidase and have a very low content of phenolics. Such differences are not noted in the cotyledons. We hypothesized that during dehydration of seeds, oxidation of phenolic compounds in seed coats through catalysis of catechol oxidase in presence of O2 might render the seed coats impermeable to water.
Bibliography:F60
F
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0032-0889
1532-2548
DOI:10.1104/pp.54.6.817