Degradation of Protein Bodies in Germinating Seeds of Brassica campestris L. var. sarson Prain

Histochemical investigations were carried out on dry and germinating seeds of Brassica campestris var. sarson, to study the degradation of protein bodies with globoidal inclusions. During germination, a wave of protein body degradation sets in from the radicular end of the embryo, passing through the hypocotyl and shoot apex, and ending in the cotyledons. The digestion of protein bodies is of the internal type. The various isolated parts of the embryo showed a similar pattern of protein body digestion to that of the whole embryo, except that in some cells the globoids persisted even after complete digestion of protein bodies; the rate was faster in the comparatively more expanded part of the isolated organs. No specific factor controlling the initiation of the wave of protein body digestion could be ascertained.