Variability and composition of calcium oxalate crystals in embryos-seedlings-adult plants of the globose cacti Mammillaria uncinata

Publication date: Available online 2 August 2019Source: MicronAuthor(s): Brenda Micaela López-Macías, Sandra Elena Morales-Martínez, Sofía Loza-Cornejo, Claudio Frausto-Reyes, Teresa Terrazas, Rita Judith Patakfalvi, Martín Ortiz-Morales, María de la Luz Miranda BeltránAbstractThe morphology and elemental composition of crystals in embryos, seedlings and adult plants of the globose cacti Mammillaria uncinata were studied. Samples of mature fruits and adult plants were collected. To obtain embryos and seedlings, seeds from mature fruits were germinated under laboratory conditions. Both embryos and seedlings as well as stem and root of the adult plants were processed by conventional microtechniques and tissue macerations to isolate the individual crystals. The crystal morphology was evaluated by light and scanning electron microscopy while its chemical composition was analyzed by energy dispersive spectroscopy, IR and Raman spectroscopy. The results demonstrated the occurrence of calcium oxalate crystals in the three stages of plant growth. Solitary and small crystals are present in embryos and seedlings in contrast crystals are aggregates or conglomerates in the adult plants. The compositional analysis showed that seedling crystals contain carbon (50.37%), oxygen (45.29%) and calcium (3.36%) while in adult plants the percentage has changed to carbon (12.54%), oxygen (53.06%) and calcium (34.38%). In the IR spectrum, the vibration bands around 1321 and 1621 cm-1 are at...
Source: Micron - Category: Biology Source Type: research