Summary
Immediately prior to seed fill, a dermal transfer cell complex, comprised of epidermal and subepidermal cells, differentiates on the abaxial surface of the cotyledons in seed ofVicia faba. Over the period of differentiation of this complex in vivo, the principal sugars of the seed apoplasmic sap change from hexoses, glucose and fructose, to sucrose. Cotyledons were removed from seeds before differentiation of the transfer cell complex and cultured for 6 days on an agar-based medium in the dark with their abaxial surface in contact with a medium containing either 100 mM hexoses (glucose and fructose in equimolar concentrations) or 100 mM sucrose. On both media, cotyledon growth rate was maintained throughout the culture period at, or above, that of in vivo grown cotyledons of equivalent developmental age. When cotyledons were cultured on a medium containing glucose and fructose, epidermal cells of both the ab- and adaxial surfaces developed wall ingrowths on their outer periclinal walls and their cytoplasm became dense, vesicular, and rich in mitochondria. Extensive ingrowth deposition also occurred on walls of the subepidermal cells and several rows of underlying storage cells where they abutted intercellular spaces. This latter ingrowth development was apparent on both cotyledon surfaces, but extended into more of the underlying cell layers on the abaxial surface at the funicular end of the cotyledon. In in vivo grown cotyledons, such ingrowth development is restricted to the subepidermal cells of the abaxial surface. Ingrowth morphology was commensurate with that of transfer cells of in vivo grown cotyledons. In contrast to the observed induction on a medium containing glucose and fructose, cotyledons cultured with sucrose as the sole sugar source exhibited no ingrowth deposition or small wall ingrowths in some abaxial epidermal cells. While the potential sugar signalling mechanism is unknown, this culture system offers an exciting opportunity to explore the molecular biology of transfer cell development.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Abbreviations
- DAA:
-
days after anthesis
- GC-MS:
-
gas chromatography and mass spectrometry
- PAR:
-
photosynthetically active radiation
- RGR:
-
relative growth rate
- SCM:
-
standard culture medium
References
Barratt DHP (1984) Effects of nutrient supply on seed growth of field bean (Viciafaba L.): 1. Effects of different sulphur and methionine regimes on cotyledon growth, protein and uncombined amino acids in vitro. Ann Bot 54: 21–30
— (1986) Regulation of storage protein accumulation by abscisic acid inVicia faba L. cotyledons cultured in vitro. Ann Bot 57: 245–256
—, Pullen A (1984) Control of seed protein accumulation in field bean (Vicia faba L.). Ann Bot 53: 683–689
Bonnemain JL, Bourquin S, Renault S, Offler C, Fisher DG (1991) Transfer cells: structure and physiology. In: Bonnemain JL, Delrot S, Lucas JW, Dainty J (eds) Recent advances in phloem transport and assimilate compartmentation. Ouest Editions, Nantes, pp 74–83
Borisjuk L, Heim U, Weber H, Wobus U (1995) Embryogenesis ofVicia faba L.: histodifferentiation in relation to starch and storage protein synthesis. J Plant Physiol 147: 203–218
Briarty LG, Coult DA, Boulter D (1968) Protein bodies of developing seeds ofVicia faba. J Exp Bot 20: 358–372
Chitty JA, Furbank RT, Marshall JS, Chen Z, Taylor WC (1994) Genetic transformation of the C4 plant,Flaveria bidentis. Plant J 6: 949–956
Corke FMK, Hedley CL, Wang TL (1990) An analysis of seed development inPisum sativum L.: XL Cellular development and the deposition of storage protein in immature embryos grown in vivo and in vitro. Protoplasma 155: 127–135
Dekhuijzen HM, Verkerke DR (1986) The effect of temperature on development and dry matter accumulation ofVicia faba seeds. Ann Bot 58: 869–885
—, van Hattum J, Verkerke DR (1988) Effect of temperature on growth ofVicia faba cotyledons in vitro. Plant Sci 54: 223–229
Dyer DJ, Cotterman C, Cotterman JC (1987) Comparison of in situ and in vitro regulation of soybean seed growth and development. Plant Physiol 84: 298–303
Egli DB (1990) Seed water relations and the regulation of the duration of seed growth in soybean. J Exp Bot 41: 243–248
Fakhrai H, Fakhrai F, Evans PK (1989) In vitro culture and plant regeneration inVicia faba subsp.equina (var. Spring Blaze). J Exp Bot 40: 813–817
Fukuda H, Komamine A (1985) Cytodifferentiation. In: Vasil IK (ed) Cell culture and somatic cell genetics of plants: cell growth, nutrition, Cytodifferentiation and cryopreservation. Academic Press, New York, pp 150–212
Harrington GN, Franceschi VR, Offler CE, Patrick JW, Tegeder M, Frommer WB, Harper JF, Hitz WD (1997) Cell-specific expression of three genes involved in plasma membrane sucrose transport in developingVicia faba seed. Protoplasma 197: 160–173
Heim U, Weber H, Baumlein H, Wobus U (1993) A sucrose-synthase gene ofVicia faba L.: expression pattern in developing seeds in relation to starch synthesis and metabolic regulation. Planta 191: 394–401
Johansson M, Walles B (1994) Functional anatomy of the ovule in broad bean (Vicia faba L.): ultrastructural seed development and nutrient pathways. Ann Bot 74: 233–244
Koch KE (1996) Carbohydrate-modulated gene expression in plants. Annu Rev Plant Physiol Plant Mol Biol 47: 509–540
Maness NO, McBee GG (1986) Role of placental sac in endosperm carbohydrate import inSorghum bicolor caryopses. Crop Sci 26: 1201–1207
McDonald R, Wang HL, Patrick JW, Offler CE (1995) The cellular pathway of sucrose transport in developing cotyledons ofVicia faba L. andPhaseolus vulgaris L.: a physiological assessment. Planta 196: 659–667
—, Fieuw S, Patrick JW (1996a) Sugar uptake by the dermal transfer cells of developing cotyledons ofVicia faba L.: experimental systems and general transport properties. Planta 198: 54–63
— — — (1996b) Sugar uptake by the dermal transfer cells of developing cotyledons ofVicia faba L.: mechanism of energy coupling. Planta 198: 502–509
Murashige T, Skoog F (1962) A revised method for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue cultures. Physiol Plant 15: 473–497
Obendorf RL, Timpo EE, Byrne MC, Toai TV, Rytko GT, Hsu FC, Anderson BG (1984) Soya bean seed growth and maturation in vitro without pods. Ann Bot 53: 853–863
Offler CE, Nerlich SM, Patrick JW (1989) Pathway of photosynthate transfer in the developing seed ofVicia faba L.: transfer in relation to seed anatomy. J Exp Bot 40: 769–780
Raper CD, Patterson RP, List ML, Obendorf RL, Downs RJ (1984) Photoperiod effects on growth rate of in vitro cultured soybean embryos. Bot Gaz 145: 157–162
Smith JG (1973) Embryo development inPhaseolus vulgaris: II. Analysis of selected inorganic ions, ammonia, organic acids, amino acids and sugars in the endosperm liquid. Plant Physiol 51: 454–458
Stafford A, Davies DR (1979) The culture of immature pea embryos. Ann Bot 44: 315–321
Thompson JF, Madison JT, Muenster A (1977) In vitro culture of immature cotyledons of soya bean. Ann Bot 41: 29–39
Wang TL, Smith CM, Cook SK, Ambrose MJ, Hedley CL (1987) An analysis of seed development inPisum sativum: III. The relationship between ther locus, the water content and the osmotic potential of seed tissues in vivo and in vitro. Ann Bot 59: 73–80
Weber H, Heim U, Borisjuk L, Wobus U (1995a) Seed coat-associated invertases of Fava bean control both unloading and storage functions: cloning of cDNAs and cell-type specific expression. Plant Cell 7: 1835–1846
— — — — (1995b) Cell-type specific, co-ordinate expression of two ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase genes in relation to starch biosynthesis during seed development ofVicia faba L. Planta 195: 352–361
—, Borisjuk L, Wobus U (1996) Controlling seed development and seed size inVicia faba: a role for seed-associated invertases and carbohydrate state. Plant J 10: 823–834
Xu J, Avigne WT, McCarty DR, Koch KE (1996) A similar dichotomy of sugar modulation and developmental expression affects both paths of sucrose metabolism: evidence from a maize invertase gene family. Plant Cell 8: 1209–1220
Yang LJ, Barratt DHP, Domoney C, Hedley CL, Wang TL (1990) An analysis of seed development inPisum sativum: X. Expression of storage protein genes in cultured embryos. J Exp Bot 41: 283–288
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Offler, C.E., Liet, E. & Sutton, E.G. Transfer cell induction in cotyledons ofVicia faba L.. Protoplasma 200, 51–64 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01280734
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01280734