Abstract:

Anatomical studies of the culm of Triticum aestivum L. cv. Xiaoyan 81, a comparatively lodging resistant cultivar, from its maternal parent Xiaoyan 54 and paternal parent 8602, was carried out by means of various microscopic techniques coupled with chemical analysis. It was found that the culm of Xiaoyan 81 possessed shorter diameter, thicker width, higher thickness-diameter ratio and higher percentage of mechanical tissue, comparing with its parents. Furthermore, the lignin content was determined by Klason’s method and semi-quantitatively analyzed with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), histochemical staining, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and the results revealed a much higher lignin content in the culm of Xiaoyan 81 than that in the Xiaoyan 54 and 8602. All of these findings provided anatomical and chemical evidence for a better quality in biomechanics of culm in cv. Xiaoyan 81 than that in its parents.

Key words: wheat culm, anatomy, lignin, chemical features