SEED AND FRUIT DEVELOPMENT

Seeds:

• Include embryo from fertilized ovum (axis plus

cotyledons), accessory tissues, seed coat

• Accessory tissues: endosperm from fertilized polar

nuclei; sometimes some nucellus ("perisperm", from
megasporangium)

• S eed coat: from integuments

• Cotyledons, endosperm, perisperm store food for

germination: lipid, starch, protein

Seed development:

• Cytokinins in endosperm stimulate cell division of the

fertilized egg

• Auxins produced by embryos stimulate expansion of

cells
globular

Stages of development of an embryo in an

Arabidopsis (mouse-ear cress) seed

heart

cotyledon
Courtesy of Prof. John Harada, UCD
In a bean (Phaseolus) seed, the In a grass (Setaria) seed, the major
major nutritive tissue is the cotyledon. nutritive tissue is endosperm
There is no endosperm remaining

The castor bean

(Ricinus) seed
has both endosperm
and cotyledon
Fruits: developed ovaries

• Before fertilization, carpel wall (ovary) protects the

ovule and embryo sac and guides the pollen
tube
• After fertilization, the carpel wall changes function
to aid in seed dispersal (and sometimes to
help time germination of the seed)

• Cytokinins in endosperm stimulate cell division

• Auxins produced by embryos stimulate expansion
of cells
• Ethylene stimulates ripening (maturation) of ovary
wall to produce fruit
Types of fruits

--fleshy or dry
--dehiscent (opens to release seeds) or indehiscent
--simple (from one ovary), aggregate (from several
ovaries on one flower), multiple (from inflorescence)
Types of fruits

--fleshy or dry
--dehiscent (opens to release seeds) or indehiscent
--simple (from one ovary), aggregate (from several
ovaries on one flower), multiple (from inflorescence)
Types of fruits

--fleshy or dry
--dehiscent (opens to release seeds) or indehiscent
--simple (from one ovary), aggregate (from several
ovaries on one flower), multiple (from inflorescence)
A pea pod is a dry, dehiscent, simple fruit

A cucumber berry is a fleshy,

indehiscent, simple fruit
A strawberry is an aggregate fruit--the
tiny individual fruits, achenes, are dry,
indehiscent, simple fruits. The
fleshy receptacle develops from the
stem
The dandelion head might be
considered a multiple fruit. The
Individual parts are dry,
Indehiscent, simple fruits
Why fruits?

They promote dispersal of seed by…

Wind: Winged (ash, elm) and plumed (dandelion)

Water: air-filled (sedges), fibrous (coconut) Ulmus

elm
Animals: burred, barbed fruits (star thistle, cockelbur);
fleshy berries (tomato: the seeds pass through guts);
nuts (hidden by squirrels, birds); sticky fruits (mistletoe)

star-thistle
Seed germination

Needs correct conditions (varies by species)

• Temperature (warm enough)

• Temperature history (chilling: “stratification”—
common in high latitudes, unlikely in Vietnam)
• Seed coat breaching (“scarification”)
• Acid bath (animal stomach)
• Light (red or far-red)
• Water (leaches inhibitor [ABA], or simply for turgor
pressure)
Seed germination involves the “mobilization” of storage compounds:
their conversion to compounds that can be metabolized for
energy and growth

Example: barley seed germination

Summary

•Seeds are plant embryos surrounded by dry integument tissue

•The embryos are dormant when the seeds are mature
•The seed tissues often control germination of the embryonic plant
•Seed tissues--cotyledons, endosperm, perisperm--nourish the
seedling when it germinates

•A simple fruit is a mature ovary; aggregate and multiple fruits

represent many ovaries

•Fruits promote the dispersal of seeds by wind, water, or

animal transport

•Seed germination involves the mobilization of stored compounds