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Abstract
Changes of respiratory metabolism in developing castor bean seeds. — The respiratory metabolism and the effect of the removal of the teguments on gas exchanges in castor bean seeds at various stages of development has been investigated. Maximal values of oxygen uptake rate were found in the period of fat accumulation. From this period on, oxidative activity steadly decreased to become, in the mature seeds, almost undetectable.
In all stages of maturation, the removal of the teguments induced a decrease of the respiratory rate of the seeds. This finding indicated that the respiratory rate of the internal tissues is not directly limited by a scarce availability of oxygen caused by a low permeability of the teguments to gases.
The value of the respiratory quotient (R.Q.) was found close to 1 in the first stages, during the growing of the endosperm while in the following period of fat accumulation it rised to 1.6, and falled again, just before the abscission of the seed, to 0.7. This fall of the R.Q. suggests that the oxidative activity of these seeds in the last stages of maturation is supported either by the oxidation of substrates more reduced than carbohydrates (probabily fats), or, partially, by the conversion of fats to sugars.