Elaiosome: a small part of seed that plays a vital role for plant dispersal

Glancing far back to the glory of Linnaeus, botanists have employed various methods to classify plants and form a classification system. One way is to use as many characters as possible, then choose good and important characters. Explained in numerical taxonomy, the use of minor characters began to be considered because it can provide a deeper explanation, including anatomy, cytology, biochemistry to genetic.

Anatomical character has an absolute advantage in terms of structure and development, because it displays the arrangement of cells with various forms and functions. Coupled with the presence of an electron microscope that gives a more detailed look at the structure of a plant, for example in the structure of the seeds below.

In the seed section, there are components that are topped with a unique shape. These components are oil producers and depositors, known as "elaiosomes". Elaiosome (elaion = oil; soma = body) not only contains oil (lipids), but is also rich in protein, so it is a food source for some insects, such as ants. Anatomically, elaiosome can be formed from two parts, namely from the seeds (parts of the kalaza, funikulus, hilus, etc.) or from fruit (carpium, pistil, tubular flowers, spicules, etc.).

Contextually, there is a hypothesis that the symbiosis between ants and elaiosome seeds leads to co-evolution. There is a special term to describe this interaction, which is "myrmecochory". The highly nutritious elaiosome will attract ants to bring the seeds to the nest, then digest the lipids and protein in them. The part of the seed that matches the embryo is protected by a hard seed coat, so it cannot be eaten by ants and is considered "left over" or "rubbish". The embryonic part will be "abandoned" by the ant, then physiologically through imbibition, the abandoned seeds will germinate.

The germination provides two advantages at once, namely keeping the seeds away from predators and increasing the radius of dispersion. Increasing this radius ecologically will reduce intra and interspesies competition, so the survival rate of the plant will be higher. See, everything for survivorships, right?