Granule Structure and Distribution of Allomorphs in C-Type High-Amylose Rice Starch Granule Modified by Antisense RNA Inhibition of Starch Branching Enzyme

C-type starch, which is a combination of both A-type and B-type crystal starch, is usually found in legumes and rhizomes. We have developed a high-amylose transgenic line of rice (TRS) by antisense RNA inhibition of starch branching enzymes. The starch in the endosperm of this TRS was identified as typical C-type crystalline starch, but its fine granular structure and allomorph distribution remained unclear. In this study, we conducted morphological and spectroscopic studies on this TRS starch during acid hydrolysis to determine the distribution of A- and B-type allomorphs. The morphology of starch granules after various durations of acid hydrolysis was compared by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that amorphous regions were located at the center part of TRS starch subgranules. During acid hydrolysis, starch was degraded from the interior of the subgranule to the outer surface, while the peripheral part of the subgranules and the surrounding band of the starch granule were highly resistant to acid hydrolysis. The spectroscopic changes detected by X-ray powder diffraction, C-13 cross-polarization magic-angle spinning NMR, and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared showed that the A-type allomorph was hydrolyzed more rapidly than the B-type, and that the X-ray diffraction profile gradually changed from a native C-type to a CB-type with increasing hydrolysis time. Our results showed that, in TRS starch, the A-type allomorph was located around the amorphous region, and was surrounded by the B-type allomorph located in the peripheral region of the subgranules and the surrounding band of the starch granule. Thus, the positions of A- and B-type allomorphs in the TRS C-type starch granule differ markedly from those in C-type legume and rhizome starch.