A scanning electron microscopic study of epicuticular waxes of glumesin Avena magna, A. murphyi, and A. sterilis

Abstract

The ultrastructure of epicuticular glume waxes in two tetraploid Avena species, A. magna and A. murphyi, and in one hexaploid species, A. sterilis, has been studied and documented with the aid of the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The usefulness of this approach for taxonomy and diagnostic purposes has been evaluated, and the specific configurations of those epicuticular waxes compared in relation to the genomes.