In vivo seed-coat exudation technique on soybean pods at the mid-maturation stage (21 d after flowering). To study the metabolic profiling of amino acids in developing soybean seeds and its possible role in the control of storage product accumulation, surgery on soybean pods was conducted as initially described by Thorne and Rainbird (1983) Plant Physiology 72, 268–271. Following excision of the pod and seed coat, the cotyledons were carefully removed in less than 1 min. Sterile phytagel 4% cooled down and ready to solidify was inserted inside the seed. Gentle reconstruction of the seed pod cut tissues after surgery minimized unnecessary dehydration. The technique has been a useful approach in the study of the three compartments targeted in our study: seed coat and apoplast space of maternal origin versus the cotyledons of the embryo. Graphic design by Alex Molnar (Alex S Molnar, Scientific/Technical Illustrator and Graphic Design Specialist, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada/Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada). Photography by Cinta Hernández-Sebastià. (See Hernández-Sebastià et al., pp. 1951-1963.)
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