In the seeds of cereals, the outer covering of endosperm separates the embryo by a protein-rich layer called : (NEET 2025)

Solution & Explanation

Answer: B. In the seeds of cereals (monocots such as wheat, maize), the endosperm is albuminous (persistent) and its outermost layer — the aleurone layer — is a special protein-rich layer that bounds the starchy endosperm and lies between it and the embryo. Integument hardens into the seed coat, while coleoptile and coleorhiza are protective sheaths of the monocot embryonal axis, not endosperm layers. (The term 'aleurone layer' is treated in detail under seed structure in Ch 5 Morphology; Ch 1 grounds the persistent cereal endosperm context.) NCERT: Ch 1, p.20, lines 19-20 — "Albuminous seeds retain a part of endosperm as it is not completely used up during embryo development (e.g., wheat, maize, barley, castor)."