The Degrading Patterns of Protein Bodies in the Ginseng Endosperm Cells

인삼배유세포에 존재하는 단백질체의 분해양상

Protein bodies in the endosperm cells of mature red ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) were distributed evenly in the cytoplasm and their size varied from 1 to $8{\mu}m$. Three types of protein bodies were detected and they are spherical or egg-shaped ones containing homogeneous matrix only, spherical ones containing globoids, and irregular shaped ones. Protein bodies degraded in two patterns, one is to start the degration of the body from the surface toward the center, while the other is that the body was broken evenly and then degraded gradually. After degradation, only the limiting membrane remained, that causes the body to be empty. The limiting membranes fused with each other to form a large vacuole. Vicilin and legumin decreased in the endosperm cells as the protein bodies degraded gradually whereas they increased in the umbiliform layers.