Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 25, 2026

A Simple Dry Sectioning Method for Obtaining Whole-Seed-Sized Resin Section and Its Applications
Published on: January 23, 2021
Structure of clusters and building blocks in amylopectin from developing wheat endosperm
Danusha N Kalinga1, Eric Bertoft2, Ian Tetlow3
1Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
Abstract:
Changes in internal structure of amylopectin (AP) during wheat endosperm development were studied by isolating clusters and building blocks of AP from both large A-type and small B-type starch granules at different maturity stages up to harvest time at 49 days after anthesis (DAA). Clusters isolated from B-type granules had a degree of branching (DB) of 16.5-16.8% and were more tightly branched than those isolated from A-type granules (DB 15.7-16.2%). The degree of polymerization (DP) of the clusters increased in both types of granules during the pre-physiological maturity stage up to 28 DAA. Clusters at maturity were smaller with less branches and building blocks than at the end of the pre-maturity stage. It is suggested that this was due to a continuous trimming of the cluster structure after the active period of starch synthesis. Differences were evident between A- and B-type granules with regards to glucan trimming and the type of new chains produced.
Related Concept Videos
Cellulose and Pectic Polysaccharides
As a cell matures, its cell wall specializes according to its type. For example, the...
Chemistry of Carbohydrates
Amyloid Fibrils
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen. In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining,...
Protein and Protein Structure
A protein's shape is critical to its function. For example, an enzyme...
Oligosaccharide Assembly
Multiple sugar molecules that may or may...
Introduction to Carbohydrates

