The transfer cell zones from 23-day postpollination corn caryopses were examined using light and electron microscopes and X-ray elemental analysis. The transfer cells were sectioned in cross and longitudinal planes and were characterized by having numerous cell-wall extensions in the form of anastomosing lamellae. The most basal transfer cells had more cell-wall extensions than those that were successively deeper in the endosperm. Cytoplasm, rich with mitochondria, filled the interstices of cell-wall extensions, and many vesiculate areas could be found along the plasma membrane. Some transfer cells contained crystals within plastids. The crystals were composed of magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, and zinc. Other cells had large aggregations of endoplasmic reticulum that were often in close association with mitochondria or unidentified, single membrane bounded organelles. When viewed in cross section, the cell-wall extensions of contiguous cells tended to originate from common loci. Plasmodesmata were absent in the bottom parts of the basal transfer cells where they contacted the maternal tissue but were abundant in the upper parts of these cells and in the transfer cells found deeper in the endosperm. The plasmodesmata were found in clusters and alternated with the wall extension areas.
Transfer cells: what regulates the development of their intricate wall labyrinths?
