biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 50:565-573, 2006 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-006-0089-y

Morphological, histochemical and ultrastructural indicators of maize and barley leaf senescence

I. Kołodziejek¹, M. Wałęza¹, A. Mostowska^1,*

¹ Department of Plant Anatomy and Cytology, Institute of Experimental Biology of Plants, Warsaw University, Warsaw, Poland

In this study we report on morphological and histochemical indicators of maize and barley leaf senescence. We determined how the traits such as distribution of stomata and hairs, presence of epicuticular wax, staining of tissues with toluidine blue, change with leaf age and within the leaf blade. We identified regions of young, non-mature leaves as exhibiting juvenile phase, regions with features typical for mature and fully differentiated leaves-as an adult phase and regions with traits of age damage as a senescing phase. Ultrastructural analysis of these regions of leaves gives a clear picture of the time development of the senescence process. Appearance of morphological and histological indicators of senescence in certain regions of leaf is correlated with ultrastructural changes of mesophyll cells of the same regions. We have thus found a relatively simple method of estimating the stage of senescence both in maize and barley.

Keywords: adult phase; Hordeum vulgare; juvenile phase; programmed cell death; Zea mays

Subjects: barley; cell death, programmed; epicuticular vax; hairs, leaf; Hordeum vulgare; maize; senescence, leaf; Zea mays

Received: August 13, 2004; Accepted: May 2, 2005; Published: December 1, 2006  Show citation