THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF DRY AND IMBIBED COTYLEDONS OF SOYBEAN

Ultrastructural observations of parenchyma cells of cotyledons of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) indicate that a 20-min period of imbibition brings about extensive changes in membranes and organelles. The plasma membrane, which in cells of dry seeds is disorganized and disrupted, becomes relatively intact and continuous. A network of endoplasmic reticulum vesicles and tubules, no evidence of which can be discerned in dry seeds, appears extensively dispersed through the cytoplasm and around the margin of protein bodies. Mitochondria in dry tissue are distorted in shape and nearly devoid of internal structure. In imbibed cells they are round or oval and are bound by an intact membrane enclosing numerous cristae and a dense stroma. Starch grains develop in proplastids. Circular or whorled membranous structures appear in the cytoplasm. The swiftness with which membranes and organelles are structurally altered during imbibition is a reflection of their effectiveness in rapidly modifying solute loss and solvent entry.