Starch granules from high-amylose cereal mutants or transgenic lines usually have different morphologies. It is not clear whether the structure and spatial distribution of starch granules with different morphologies in endosperm is homogeneous or heterogeneous. In the present study, the structure and spatial distribution in endosperm of morphologically different starch granules from high-amylose transgenic rice line (TRS) were investigated. The TRS endosperm had individual, aggregate, elongated, and interior hollow starch granules. The individual and interior hollow granules had the lowest and the highest amylose content and gelatinization resistance, respectively, among the four types of granules. The individual granules were mainly distributed in the middle of the endosperm; the aggregate granules in the starchy endosperm cells between the subaleurone layer and the middle of the endosperm; the elongated granules in the peripheral starchy endosperm cells adjacent to the subaleurone layer; and the interior hollow granules in the subaleurone layer cells.
Keywords: heterogeneous starch granule; high-amylose rice; morphology; spatial distribution in endosperm; structure.