A comparative microstructural study of the animal pigment, bilirubin, in seed arils of Strelitzia nicolai
2020
Dwarka, Depika | Murugan, Nelisha | Thaver, Veneesha | Baijnath, Himansu
The unexpected finding of an animal pigment, bilirubin, in the arils of the plant Strelitzia nicolai, has resulted in interest regarding bilirubin's formation, its ultimate function as well as its ultrastructure both in the humans and in the plant. The main objective of this study was to identify the structural components of seed arils of S. nicolai at a cellular level. Furthermore, this study compared the five different stages of aril maturation and tracked bilirubin formation within the cells. This was accomplished by stereomicroscopic, light microscopic and electron microscopical analysis. These included arils stained with toluidine blue and the modified Hall's staining to detect the presence of bilirubin. The results from the light, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed the different stages of aril development containing a large number of cellular contents. However, as the aril matures, the contents of the cell became denser. Additionally, arils became a more structured and rigid as they matured. The most noticeable feature of the arils was that of the colour change as they mature. It was clarified that the colour change of the arils was attributed to the production and accumulation of bilirubin within the cells.
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