seeds consist of a whitish embryo surrounded by a hyaline layer fo remaining central endosperm and asingle layer of peripheral endosperm cells (aleurone layer) containing storage reserves and associated with the brown seed coat or testa (muller,1963;vaughan and whitehouse,1971; Mansfield and Briarty,1994; Schneitz et al.,1995). The seed coat derives from ovular tissue and is therefore of maternal origin. The aleurone layer of mature seeds is physiologically active,in contrast to the testa lesta layers, whose ceiis died during late seed maturation after having encountered considerable developmental changes.