Changes in the Molecular-size Distribution of Carbohydrates during Ripening in Attached and Detached Seeds of Lolium temulentum L.

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Abstract
Seed samples of Lolium temulentum L. were harvested at various stages of maturity and subjected to successive cold- and hot-water extractions. These extracts were then fractionated by gel-filtration and the changes in the carbohydrate elution pattern with increasing seed maturity were characterized. Extracts of seeds from early harvests contained only free sugars, but the mean chain-length increased with maturity. The hot-water fraction contained no salient features until 17 days after anthesis but, after this point, a completely excluded, high-molecular-weight polysaccharide accumulated. Infiltration studies using I4C-sucrose and detached seeds showed that sugar was readily incorporated into polysaccharide, but that the degree of uptake was directly proportional to the developmental stage of the seed at the time of detachment. Hydrolysis data on the various components are given and the results are discussed in terms of their practical significance.

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