小麦淀粉胚乳发育期间的程序性细胞死亡

小麦淀粉胚乳在发育过程中经历程序性细胞死亡(PCD).小麦淀粉胚乳的DNA在发育的特定阶段呈现梯状电泳条带,用乙烯处理使DNA片段化发生的时间提前,而且ABA处理虽然不能推迟DNA片段化的发生时间,但能减弱DNA片段化的程度.小麦淀粉胚乳细胞在PCD过程中出现某些动植物细胞凋亡的共同的结构变化特征,但也有一些独特的结构变化.如染色质凝聚后仅少数染色质块发生趋边化;细胞核在PCD过程中最先开始衰退,细胞核解体时胞质中有丰富的细胞器,细胞核解体后细胞并未死亡,在胞质中仍在合成和积累淀粉和储藏蛋白,直到细胞被淀粉充满,细胞才死亡;不形成凋亡小体,死亡的淀粉胚乳细胞成为营养物质的储藏库.因此小麦淀粉胚乳细胞的PCD是一种特殊形式的PCD.

Programmed Cell Death in Wheat During Starchy Endosperm Development

The starchy endosperm of wheat underwent programmed cell death (PCD) during its development. It showed a ladder of DNA fragments in multiples of 180-200 bp at specific stages when analyzed by agar-ose gel electrophoresis. The onset of internucleosomal fragmentation of the genome in wheat endosperm could be accelerated by ethylene. While treatment with ab-scisic acid (ABA) did not delay the onset of DNA fragmentation, but reduced its extent in developing wheat endosperm. During PCD, beside some ultra-structural changes common to other animal and plant apoptotic cells, the starchy endosperm cells also showed some peculiar ultrastructural features. For example, the chromatins in the nucleoplasm were densely aggregated, only a few condensed chromatins abutted onto the inner surface of the nuclear envelope; the nucleus was the first to suffer from degeneration; during nuclear disintegration a large number of or-ganelles could still be observed in the cytoplasm; after nuclear disintegration, the cell remained alive, and synthesis and accumulation of starches and proteins were carried out as usual in the cytoplasm until the starchy endosperm cell died when it was filled with reserves; no formation of apoptotic bodies could be found and the dead starchy endosperm cell served as a reservoir. The PCD of starchy endosperm cells in wheat was a special form of PCD.