Degeneration of oil bodies by rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER)-associated protein during seed germination in Cannabis sativa L

Oil bodies serve as a vital energy source of embryos during germination and contribute to sustaining the initial growth of seedlings until photosynthesis initiation. Despite high stability in chemical properties, how oil bodies break down and go into the degradation process during germination is still unknown. This study provides a morphological understanding of the mobilisation of stored compounds in the seed germination of Cannabis. The achenes of fibrous hemp cultivar (Cannabis sativa cv. ‘Chungsam’) were examined in this study using light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Oil bodies in Cannabis seeds appeared spherical and sporadically distributed in the cotyledonary cells. Protein bodies contained electron-dense globoid and heterogeneous protein matrices. During seed germination, rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) and high electron-dense substances were present adjacent to the oil bodies. The border of the oil bodies became a dense cluster region and appeared as a sinuous outline. Later, irregular hyaline areas were distributed throughout oil bodies, showing the destabilised emulsification of oil bodies. Finally, the oil bodies lost their morphology and fused with each other. The storage proteins were concentrated in the center of the protein body as a dense homogenous circular mass surrounded by a light heterogeneous area. Some storage proteins are considered emulsifying agents on the surface region of oil bodies, enabling them to remain stable and distinct within and outside cotyledon cells. At the early germination stage, rER appeared and dense substances aggregated adjacent to the oil bodies. Certain proteins were synthesised within the rER and then translocated into the oil bodies by crossing the half membrane of oil bodies. Our data suggests that rER-associated proteins function as enzymes to lyse the emulsifying proteins, thereby weakening the emulsifying agent on the surface of the oil bodies. This process plays a key role in the degeneration of oil bodies and induces coalescence during seed germination.