Acid phosphatases and seed shriveling in triticale

Seed shriveling in the man-made intergeneric hybrid, triticale (x Triticosecale Wittmack) appears to be related to increased activity of endosperm acid phosphatases including para-nitrophenyl phosphatase, ATPase, ADPase, phosphatidic phosphatase, and glucose-1-phosphatase that occur specifically at later stages of seed development. These hydrolases may reduce endogenous substrates for starch synthesis, deplete energy supply for maintenance and biosynthesis of tissue growth, and deassemble membrane structures resulting in a partially filled endosperm and localized necrosis. Electrophoretic isozyme patterns of endosperm acid phosphatase exhibited distinctive differences between lines producing plump and shriveled seeds indicating a divergent role of the isozymes in these two different seed conformations.