Question

Describe endosperm development in coconut.

Answer 1

Endosperm is the nutritive tissue for the developing embryo and also the seedling. In angiosperm, the endosperm develops from triploid primary endosperm nucleus which is formed as a result of vegetative fertilization, a triple fusion of a male gamete with the secondary nucleus of the central cell. On the basis of development of endosperm, there are three types and the free nuclear is a type of endosperm development, where the primary endosperm nucleus divide by repeated mitotic free nuclear division without the formation of walls. Results in the formation of a large number of the free nucleus in the central cell of the embryo sac. A big central vacuole develops in the embryo sac in all the nucleus periphery cytoplasm. Finally, cell wall formation takes place from the periphery of the embryo sac towards the centre leading to the formation of cellular endosperm tissue. In coconut, the endosperm is multicellular in the outer part and free nuclear in the centre.