Endosperm Persistence in Seeds — NEET Biology
📚 Practice ConceptEndosperm may either be completely consumed by the developing embryo (e.g., pea, groundnut, beans) before seed maturation or it may persist in the mature seed (e.g. castor and coconut) and be used up during seed germination. Split open some seeds of castor, peas, beans, groundnut, fruit of coconut and look for the endosperm in each case. Find out whether the endosperm is persistent in cereals – wheat, rice and maize.
Which of the following statements concerning endosperm development and its characteristics are NOT correct? S1: Endosperm development usually precedes embryo development to provide assured nutrition to the developing embryo. S2: Free-nuclear endosperm formation involves nuclear divisions not immediately followed by cell wall formation. S3: In non-albuminous seeds like wheat and maize, the endosperm is completely consumed during embryo development. S4: The primary endosperm nucleus (PEN) is triploid, formed by the fusion of two polar nuclei and one male gamete. S5: Coconut water is a cellular endosperm, while the white kernel is free-nuclear endosperm. S6: Endosperm in castor oil seed is persistent and serves as a major food reserve.
View solution & NCERT explanation
Correct answer: A — S3 and S5 only
Let's evaluate each statement concerning endosperm development and characteristics: S1: Endosperm development usually precedes embryo development to provide assured nutrition to the developing embryo. This statement is correct. NCERT states, "Endosperm development precedes embryo development. Why? This is an adaptation to provide assured nutrition to the developing embryo." S2: Free-nuclear endosperm formation involves nuclear divisions not immediately followed by cell wall formation. This statement is correct. NCERT describes free-nuclear endosperm as a stage where "the PEN undergoes successive nuclear divisions to give rise to free nuclei" and "nuclear divisions are not followed immediately by cell wall formation." S3: In non-albuminous seeds like wheat and maize, the endosperm is completely consumed during embryo development. This statement is NOT correct. Wheat and maize are examples of *albuminous* seeds, meaning they retain endosperm. Non-albuminous seeds (e.g., pea, groundnut) have their endosperm completely consumed. S4: The primary endosperm nucleus (PEN) is triploid, formed by the fusion of two polar nuclei and one male gamete. This statement is correct. NCERT explains, "The other male gamete moves towards the two polar nuclei... and fuses with them to produce a triploid primary endosperm nucleus (PEN)... this involves the fusion of three haploid nuclei it is termed triple fusion." S5: Coconut water is a cellular endosperm, while the white kernel is free-nuclear endosperm. This statement is NOT correct. The statement reverses the facts. Coconut water is the free-nuclear endosperm, and the surrounding white kernel is the cellular endosperm. S6: Endosperm in castor oil seed is persistent and serves as a major food reserve. This statement is correct. Castor is listed as an example of an albuminous seed that retains endosperm. Therefore, statements S3 and S5 are NOT correct. Option A is correct as it identifies S3 and S5 as the incorrect statements. Option B is incorrect because S2 and S4 are correct. Option C is incorrect because S1 and S6 are correct. Option D is incorrect because S4 is correct. This question tests the understanding of endosperm formation, its types, persistence in different seeds, and its role as a nutritive tissue.
What does NCERT say about Endosperm may either be?
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