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Acta Agron Sin ›› 2016, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (01): 70-81.

• TILLAGE & CULTIVATION · PHYSIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Comparison of Starch Granule Morphology and Size Distribution in Superior and Inferior Grains of Three Cereal Crops

XU Yun-Ji,LI Yin-Yin,QIAN Xi-Yang,WANG Zhi-Qin,YANG Jian-Chang*   

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology / Co-Innovation Center for Modern Production Technology of Grain Crops, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
  • Received:2015-05-31 Revised:2015-09-06 Online:2016-01-12 Published:2015-10-08
  • Contact: 杨建昌,E-mail: jcyang@yzu.edu.cn, Tel: 0514-87979317 E-mail:xuyunji19881004@163.com
  • Supported by:

    The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31271641, 31471438, 31461143015), China National Public Welfare Industry (Agriculture) Plan (201103003, 201203079), Jiangsu “Three-innovation” Agricultural Project (SXG2014313), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

Abstract:

Using two rice cultivars, two wheat cultivars, and two maize cultivars, we extracted starch granules to observe the morphological characteristics and to compare the differences in the starch granule number, volume and surface area distributions among the three crops and between superior and inferior grains of each cultivar. The results showed that significant differences were observed in starch granule morphology and size among the three crops. The diameter of starch granule showed an order of maize > wheat > rice. Starch granules extracted in rice showed an irregular shape, the starch granules in wheat were lenticular-shaped and spherical-shaped. The starch granules in maize grain were mainly polyhedral or irregular and spherical in shape. Distributions of starch granule number, volume and surface area were changed in a typical unimodal-peak curve, a triple-peak curve and a typical bimodal-peak curve, respectively, in grains of rice and maize. Distributions of starch granule number, volume and surface area in wheat grains displayed a typical unimodal-peak curve, a four-peak curve and a triple-peak curve, respectively. According to starch granule diameters, all the starch granules were classified into small, medium, and large granules in this study. The thresholds for separating the starch granules were 1.5 μm and 20.0 μm, 5.0 μm and 50.0 μm, 4.0 μm and 50.0 μm, respectively, in rice, wheat and maize. The total volume of starch granules in grains of the three cereal crops was mainly determined by the volume of medium starch granules. No significant difference was observed in the proportions of small starch granule size and medium starch granule number between superior and inferior grains of the three cereal crops. But the volume and surface area of medium starch granules were larger in superior grains than in inferior ones. The percentage of large starch granules was greater in the inferior than in the superior. Changes in the volume of medium starch granules in both superior and inferior grains were consistent with those in starch accumulation and grain weight. The results suggest that the starch granule volume is an important factor determining grain weight. Increasing the volume of medium starch granules or reducing the volume of large starch granules would increase the weight of inferior grains.

Key words: Starch granule, Morphology, Size distribution, Superior grains, Inferior grains, Rice, Wheat, Maize

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