Ontrol dish) were imaged on a confocal microscope (Lecia DMIRE2) equipped with a camera (Lecia TCSSP2).Author ContributionsConceived and designed the experiments: JT TEA IP YKM RA DS. Performed the experiments: JT TEA IP. Analyzed the data: JT TEA IP YKM RA DS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: RA DS. Wrote the paper: JT TEA IP DS.
Seeds, 25033180 the reproductive organs of plants, generally consist of seed coat, endosperm and embryo. Seed coats protect seeds during dormancy; endosperms normally provide nutrients during germination and, in the initial growth phase of the developing seedling; while embryos, which consist of cotyledons, hypocotyl and radicle, develop into different organs of the seedlings. According to the requirements of different physiological processes, nutrients and other metabolites are distributed and deposited in various seed organs. The embryo ?which in the case of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) refers especially to the cotyledons ?is a storage site for BIBS39 web lipids. In rapeseed, the oil contents reach approximately 50 (w/w) [1], making rape a major oil crop; worldwide it contributes up to 15 of global oil production [2]. Glucosinolates, which account for 3?8 of the rapeseed meal of conventional cultivars and 0.5?.0 of low-glucosinolate cultivars, may have a depot function for nitrogen, as cyanogenic glucosides do [3]. Phenolic choline esters, mainly sinapate choline esters, are the other major class of secondary metabolites in rapeseed. Sinapine, the choline ester of sinapic acid (sinapate), is the predominant Clavulanic acid potassium salt biological activity compound of that type, constituting 1? (w/w) of the rapeseed meal [4]. Although the sinapine biosynthesis pathway has been well investigated in Brassicaceae plants [5], the biological functions of sinapate choline esters are barely known. Sinapine was thought to be stored in Raphanus sativus seeds as a supply of choline, a compound that aids phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis in young seedlings [6]. From a nutritional point of view, the presence of the major secondary metabolites, glucosinolates and sinapates, are unwanted because of their antinutritive properties [1]. However, these compounds are very important for helping plants adapt to their biotic and abioticenvironments [7,8], and in plants different classes of secondary metabolites play specific ecological functions. The glucosinolate-myrosinase system found in rape and other Brassicales is one of the best-explored plant chemical defense systems against herbivores [9]. Glucosinolate-derived indolics are also involved in antifungal defense [10]. Flavonoids, sinapates and other phenolics have been found 
in rapeseed and protect plants from ultraviolet-B (UV-B) stress [11?3]. Because different classes of secondary metabolites possess individual biological 
functions, it is reasonable to speculate that diverse secondary metabolites in rapeseed accumulate separately in specific tissues and play different roles in physiological processes or ecological interactions. A recent study, in which laser microdissection (LMD) was successfully used to harvest specific tissues from developing rapeseed [14], encouraged us to apply LMD to sample different tissues of mature rapeseed and map the distribution of diverse secondary metabolites in the seed tissues. Insights gained from understanding how secondary metabolites are distributed in rapeseed can help us to conceive the biosynthesis and function of these metabolites in the plant. LMD has been successfully used to harve.Ontrol dish) were imaged on a confocal microscope (Lecia DMIRE2) equipped with a camera (Lecia TCSSP2).Author ContributionsConceived and designed the experiments: JT TEA IP YKM RA DS. Performed the experiments: JT TEA IP. Analyzed the data: JT TEA IP YKM RA DS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: RA DS. Wrote the paper: JT TEA IP DS.
Seeds, 25033180 the reproductive organs of plants, generally consist of seed coat, endosperm and embryo. Seed coats protect seeds during dormancy; endosperms normally provide nutrients during germination and, in the initial growth phase of the developing seedling; while embryos, which consist of cotyledons, hypocotyl and radicle, develop into different organs of the seedlings. According to the requirements of different physiological processes, nutrients and other metabolites are distributed and deposited in various seed organs. The embryo ?which in the case of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) refers especially to the cotyledons ?is a storage site for lipids. In rapeseed, the oil contents reach approximately 50 (w/w) [1], making rape a major oil crop; worldwide it contributes up to 15 of global oil production [2]. Glucosinolates, which account for 3?8 of the rapeseed meal of conventional cultivars and 0.5?.0 of low-glucosinolate cultivars, may have a depot function for nitrogen, as cyanogenic glucosides do [3]. Phenolic choline esters, mainly sinapate choline esters, are the other major class of secondary metabolites in rapeseed. Sinapine, the choline ester of sinapic acid (sinapate), is the predominant compound of that type, constituting 1? (w/w) of the rapeseed meal [4]. Although the sinapine biosynthesis pathway has been well investigated in Brassicaceae plants [5], the biological functions of sinapate choline esters are barely known. Sinapine was thought to be stored in Raphanus sativus seeds as a supply of choline, a compound that aids phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis in young seedlings [6]. From a nutritional point of view, the presence of the major secondary metabolites, glucosinolates and sinapates, are unwanted because of their antinutritive properties [1]. However, these compounds are very important for helping plants adapt to their biotic and abioticenvironments [7,8], and in plants different classes of secondary metabolites play specific ecological functions. The glucosinolate-myrosinase system found in rape and other Brassicales is one of the best-explored plant chemical defense systems against herbivores [9]. Glucosinolate-derived indolics are also involved in antifungal defense [10]. Flavonoids, sinapates and other phenolics have been found in rapeseed and protect plants from ultraviolet-B (UV-B) stress [11?3]. Because different classes of secondary metabolites possess individual biological functions, it is reasonable to speculate that diverse secondary metabolites in rapeseed accumulate separately in specific tissues and play different roles in physiological processes or ecological interactions. A recent study, in which laser microdissection (LMD) was successfully used to harvest specific tissues from developing rapeseed [14], encouraged us to apply LMD to sample different tissues of mature rapeseed and map the distribution of diverse secondary metabolites in the seed tissues. Insights gained from understanding how secondary metabolites are distributed in rapeseed can help us to conceive the biosynthesis and function of these metabolites in the plant. LMD has been successfully used to harve.
