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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

water partitioning, barley, Hordeum vulgare, seeds

College

Life Sciences

Department

Plant and Wildlife Sciences

Abstract

After seed imbibition, water travels preferentially to those tissues most actively involved in germination. The majority of water travels to the embryo of the seed, which includes both the radical (primary root), and shoot meristem (rapidly dividing tissue that develops into the shoot of the plant). A smaller volume of water travels to the endosperm, a starchy storage tissue which serves as an energy source during early plant growth. We have used a fluorescent tracer dye, fluorescence microscope, and photometer to characterize more specifically the areas where water concentrates during imbibition, and to trace the path of water movement from the distal end of the seed to the embryo.

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