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Updated: Mar 12, 2026

Combining Histochemical Staining and Image Analysis to Quantify Starch in the Ovary Primordia of Sweet Cherry during Winter Dormancy
Published on: March 20, 2019
Starch Turnover and Metabolism during Flower and Early Embryo Development
Afif Hedhly1, Hannes Vogler2, Marc W Schmid2
1Department of Plant and Microbial Biology and Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, CH-8008 Zurich, Switzerland afif.hedhli@uzh.ch grossnik@botinst.uzh.ch.
Abstract:
The accumulation of starch within photosynthetic tissues and within dedicated storage organs has been characterized extensively in many species, and a function in buffering carbon availability or in fueling later growth phases, respectively, has been proposed. However, developmentally regulated starch turnover within heterotrophic tissues other than dedicated storage organs is poorly characterized, and its function is not well understood. Here, we report on the characterization of starch turnover during flower, early embryo, and silique development in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) using a combined clearing-staining technique on whole-mount tissue. Besides the two previously documented waves of transient starch accumulation in the stamen envelope, occurring during meiosis and pollen mitosis I, we identified a novel, third wave of starch amylogenesis/amylolysis during the last stages of stamen development. To gain insights into the underlying molecular mechanisms, we analyzed publicly available microarray data, which revealed a developmentally coordinated expression of carbohydrate transport and metabolism genes during these waves of transient starch accumulation. Based on this analysis, we characterized starch dynamics in mutants affecting hexose phosphate metabolism and translocation, and identified the Glc-6-phosphate/phosphate antiporter GPT1 as the putative translocator of Glc-6-phosphate for starch biosynthesis in reproductive tissues. Based on these results, we propose a model of starch synthesis within the pollen grain and discuss the nutrient transport route feeding the embryo within the developing seed.
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