Endosperm Structure of White-Belly and White-Core Rice Grains Shown by Scanning Electron Microscopy

• Main Authors: Min Xi, Zhaomiao Lin, Xincheng Zhang, Zhenghui Liu, Ganghua Li, Qiangsheng Wang, Shaohua Wang, Yanfeng Ding
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2014-01-01
• Series: Plant Production Science
• Subjects: Grain chalkiness; SEM; White-belly rice grain; White-core rice grain.
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1626/pps.17.285

White-belly and white-core are the major two types of grain chalkiness in japonica rice. This study aims to compare the morphological features of white-belly and white-core using a scanning electron microcope (SEM). A japonica rice cultivar Wuyujing3 and its mutants were used as materials. Nearly 1000 SEM images were observed, and 12 representative photos were selected. SEM images showed contrasting differences between white-belly and white-core in endosperm microstructure including the shape of endosperm cell, the size distribution of starch granules, and the amount of protein bodies. White-belly and white-core also varied markedly in morphological features of the cracked compound starch granules. Our findings should help to advance our understanding of the multi-faceted nature of grain chalkiness from the perspective of starch and protein accumulation, and should be of value for future work on rice grain chalkiness.