Structure of the Developing Pea Seed Coat and the Post‐phloem Transport Pathway of Nutrients

Seed coat structure and nutrient transport

Van Dongen et al. (pp. 729-737) relate certain anatomical features of developing pea seed coats to assimilate transport and unloading. They show that phloem-imported solutes first move symplasmically into chlorenchyma and ground parenchyma of the seed coat. They are subsequently unloaded into the apoplast and, finally, diffuse towards the embryo through liquid-filled intercellular spaces.