SEED STRUCTURE AND LOCALIZATION OF RESERVES IN CHENOPODIUM-QUINOA

The three areas of food reserves in quinoa seeds are: a large central perisperm, a peripheral embryo and a one to two-cell layered endosperm surrounding the hypocotyl-radicle axis of the embryo. Cytochemical an d ultrastructural analysis revealed that starch grains occupy the cell s of the perisperm, while lipid bodies, protein bodies with globoid cr ystals of phytin, and proplastids with deposits of phytoferritin are t he storage components of the cells of the endosperm and embryo tissues . EDX analysis of the endosperm and embryo protein bodies revealed tha t globoid crystals contain phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. These results are compared with studies on other perispermous seeds publishe d to date. (C) 1998 Annals of Botany Company