Abstract:

This paper reported the changes of moisture contents, vigour index, enzymes activities, contents and components of soluble sugars, protein contents and SDS-PAGE protein bands before and after maturation of Castanea mollissima seeds. The desiccation sensitivity of the seeds was relatively low at picking time. The α-amylase and isocitratelyase existed at 75 days after anthesis and their activities increased rapidly after seed abscission(90 days after anthesis). The contents of raffinose and stachyose in cotyledons and embryonic axes reached maximum at 90 days after anthesis. The level of soluble proteins in cotyledons was lower than that in embryonic axes and the level of heat-stable proteins was much higher in cotyledons than that in embryonic axes. The ratio of heat-stable proteins to soluble proteins reached maximum at 90 days after anthesis in embryonic axes. SDS-PAGE showed that the kinds of soluble proteins in cotyledons and embryonic axes were different. The main heat-stable polypeptides of low molecular weight were 20,17, 12kD in cotyledons, and were 20, 12kD in embryonic axes at 75～90 days after anthesis,but only 12kD at 105 days after anthesis.

Key words: Castanea mollissima, Seeds, Proteins, Soluble sugars, Desiccation sensitivity