Gibberellic acid and the fine structure of barley aleurone cells

Abstract

This paper describes changes in the fine structure of barley aleurone cells following treatment with gibberellic acid (GA₃). Within 2 hr of GA₃ treatment the aleurone grains lose the spherical appearance characteristic of aleurone cells incubated in water and buffer alone. This swelling increases with increased exposure of the cells to GA₃ and reaches a maximum at about 10 hr. Accompanying this increase in volume of the aleurone grains is an increase in the amount of rough endoplasmic reticulum. The relevance of these GA₃-stimulated changes in aleurone-cell fine-structure to GA₃-regulated α-amylase production is discussed.