Germination Characteristics Is More Associated With Phylogeny-Related Traits of Species in a Salinized Grassland of Northeastern China

Knowing the determinants of seed germination helps us understand plant adaptive strategies to the environment and predict population and community regeneration under climate change. However, multiple factors, including plant and seed traits that influence germination and their relative importance, have received little attention. Here, seed germination experiments were conducted on newly collected seeds for 89 herbaceous species from salinized Songnen grassland. We tested the effects of multiple phylogeny-related plant traits and seed morphological and physiological traits on germination percentage and initial germination time and their relative contribution to shaping germination variation. We found that biennials had higher germination percentages and rates than annuals and perennials. Species with brown seeds had higher germination percentages than those with yellow and black seeds. Eudicots germinated faster than monocots, and seeds with morphophysiological dormancy required more time to initiate germination than those with other kinds of dormancy. Phylogeny-related factors explained more of the variation in germination than seed traits. Seed mass and volume of the large-seeded, but not small-seeded group species were positively correlated with germination percentage. Our findings provide important information for understanding germination variation across species and local adaptation for species in the salinized Songnen grassland.

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Morphological and germination response variability in seeds of wild yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea L.) accessions from northwest Spain

Botany ◽

10.1139/b2012-028 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 90 (8) ◽

pp. 731-742 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Félix Pérez-García ◽

Federico Varela ◽

M. Elena González-Benito

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Water Content ◽

Germination Rate ◽

Seed Mass ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Gentiana Lutea ◽

Moist Chilling ◽

Mean Germination Time ◽

Wild Accessions ◽

Seed Water Content

Gentiana lutea L. (yellow gentian, Gentianaceae) is an important medicinal plant under protection as endangered species in most European countries. The aim of this work was to evaluate variation in seed mass, seed water content, and seed germination among 56 wild accessions of G. lutea. The effect of gibberellic acid (GA3), putrescine, moist chilling, and level of ripeness of seeds on subsequent germination was also investigated. Seeds of G. lutea showed physiological dormancy (final germination percentages ranged from 0% to 11%, depending on the accession) and GA3 enhanced seed germination drastically in all the accessions. The highest germination (99%) of GA3-treated seeds was reached at 15 °C. Final germination percentage and germination rate (as expressed by mean germination time), as well as seed mass and seed water content, varied significantly among accessions. In general, 1 year moist chilling did not significantly enhance G. lutea seed germination. For most accessions, no significant differences were found between fully ripe seeds and less ripe seeds for seed water content, seed mass, and seed germination. Applications of GA3 were always most effective than those of putrescine for increasing seed germination.

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Germination strategies of 20 alpine species with varying seed mass and light availability

Australian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1071/bt12119 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 61 (5) ◽

pp. 404 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Gao-Lin Wu ◽

Guo-Zhen Du ◽

Zhi-Hua Shi

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Light Availability ◽

Seed Mass ◽

Significant Negative Correlation ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Central Component ◽

Grassland Community ◽

Germination Characteristics ◽

Germination Strategy

Seed germination is a central component of plant life history. To investigate the proposed role of seed size on germination strategy in plant communities, a semifield experiment was conducted in alpine meadow of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, China. Interspecies relationships of seed mass and seed germination characteristics were studied under semifield conditions with different light availability. Light availability and seed mass had significant effects on final germination percentage and time to germination for studied species. There was a significant negative correlation between the strength of light required for germination and seed mass. Fifteen study species (e.g. Ligularia przewalskii, Artemisia sieversiana Willd, Tripolium vulgare Ness. and Saussurea morifolia Chen) exhibited a synchronous germination strategy. Seeds from large-seeded species, such as Dracocephalum ruyschiana, Laniophlomis rotate (Benth.) and Salvia przewalskii Maxim., were less likely to require light for germination than those of small-seeded species, such as A. sieversiana Willd, Senecio diversipinnus Ling and Saussurea mongolica (Franch.). We propose that germination strategies of small-seeded species are well suited to unpredictable environmental variation in this alpine grassland community.

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Differential Responses of Dimorphic Seeds and Seedlings to Abiotic Stresses in the Halophyte Suaeda salsa

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.630338 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Hao Zhang ◽

Mingfang Hu ◽

Hongyuan Ma ◽

Li Jiang ◽

Zhenyong Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Seedling Growth ◽

Abiotic Stresses ◽

Inhibitory Effect ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Suaeda Salsa ◽

High Germination ◽

Germination Characteristics ◽

Black Seeds ◽

Germination Traits

The period between seed germination and seedling establishment is one of the most vulnerable stages in the life cycle of annuals in the saline environments. Although germination characteristics of Suaeda salsa seeds have been reported, the comparative germination patterns of dimorphic seeds and seedling growth to different abiotic stresses remain poorly understood. In this study, germination responses of dimorphic seeds to light and temperature were compared. Meanwhile, responses of dimorphic seeds and thereafter seedlings of S. salsa to different concentrations of NaCl and Na2SO4 were also tested. The results showed that the light did not significantly affect germination percentage of brown seeds, but significantly promoted germination of black seeds. Brown seeds could reach high germination percentage over a wide temperature range, however, germination of black seeds gradually increased with the increase of temperature. Brown seeds had higher germination percentage and velocity than black seeds under the same salt conditions. However, black seeds had higher recovery germination than brown seeds when transferred to deionized water. Young seedlings had lower salt tolerance than germinating seeds. At the same concentrations, Na2SO4 had stronger inhibitory effect on seed germination and seedling growth than NaCl. This study comprehensively compared germination traits of dimorphic seeds and seedling growth of S. salsa, and then developed a conceptual model to explain their adaptation to harsh saline environment.

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Effect of selective abortion on seed germination and post-germination performance of offspring

Seed Science Research ◽

10.1017/s0960258519000199 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 210-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jerry M. Baskin ◽

Carol C. Baskin

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Early Life ◽

Seed Mass ◽

Early Life History ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Flowering Plants ◽

Offspring Performance ◽

Offspring Quality ◽

Selective Abortion ◽

Life History Stages

AbstractHermaphroditic angiosperms, especially outcrossers, generally produce many more flowers and ovules than they can mature into fruits and seeds. One of the several hypotheses to account for the production of ‘excess’ flowers is selective abortion, which has been shown to increase offspring quality in plants. Our primary aim was to review the literature on the effects of selective abortion on seed germination and post-germination offspring vigour. Of 14 case studies (11 species in 10 genera and four families of flowering plants), germination percentage or rate (speed) increased in six and did not increase in eight, whereas post-germination offspring performance increased in 11 and did not increase in three. In six of the eight cases in which germination was not increased, seedling/juvenile vigour was increased. Seed mass was less likely to influence seed germination than seedling/juvenile vigour. Although selective abortion has been shown to increase progeny vigour of the early life history stages of plants, neither its demographic nor evolutionary importance has been demonstrated.

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Germination biology of dimorphic seeds of the annual halophyte common seepweed (Suaeda glauca)

Weed Science ◽

10.1017/wsc.2019.74 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 68 (2) ◽

pp. 143-150

Author(s):

Hongfei Wang ◽

Lin Kong ◽

Rui Gao ◽

Buhailiqiemu Abudureheman ◽

Xinyang Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Salt Concentration ◽

Seedling Emergence ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Common Salt ◽

Light Conditions ◽

Effective Measure ◽

Temperature Regimes ◽

Suaeda Glauca ◽

Black Seeds

AbstractCommon seepweed [Suaeda glauca (Bunge) Bunge] is a common salt-tolerant weed species distributed across the agricultural regions of northern China. It produces dimorphic seeds with different phenotypic characteristics and seed sizes. However, there is no information regarding the germination biology of these dimorphic seeds. Studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of ecological factors such as temperature, light, pH, osmotic stress, salt concentration, and planting depth on seed germination and seedling emergence. The results showed that brown seeds were nondormant, whereas black seeds had an intermediate physiological dormancy. The germination percentage of brown seeds was more than 80% at all temperature regimes and light conditions, but the optimum germination occurred at the cold thermoperiod of 20/10 C. In contrast, less than 6% of black seeds germinated at all temperature regimes and light conditions. Eight weeks of cold stratification did not break the dormancy of black seeds, whereas low concentrations of gibberellic acid (0.1 and 1.0 mM) significantly increased seed germination. Removal of the testa of black seeds also promoted germination and produced normal seedlings. Brown seeds showed moderate tolerance to salt stress, with 16% germination percentage at a salt concentration of 600 mM NaCl. The germination of brown seeds was 38% at an osmotic potential stress of −0.8 MPa; above that, no germination was obtained. Brown seeds germinated well in a wide pH range (4 to 10), with a germination percentage higher than 95%. Seedling emergence percentage was higher than 90% at burial depths of 0 to 2 cm, while germination percentage severely decreased for brown seeds with burial depths >2 cm, indicating that shallow tillage could be an effective measure to minimize seed germination. Information gathered from this study will help to develop an effective protocols for controlling S. glauca.

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Recovery and germination of seeds after passage through the gut of Kazakh sheep on the north slope of the Tianshan Mountains

Seed Science Research ◽

10.1017/s0960258517000022 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 43-49 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Shulin Wang ◽

Weihua Lu ◽

Narkes Waly ◽

Chunhui Ma ◽

Qianbing Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Plant Species ◽

Seed Mass ◽

Passage Time ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Tianshan Mountains ◽

Seed Shape ◽

Leguminous Species ◽

Recovery Percentage ◽

Gramineous Species

AbstractEndozoochorous dispersal of seeds by livestock has long attracted the attention of grassland scientists. However, little is known about seed dispersal after ingestion by Kazakh sheep on dry grasslands in the Tianshan Mountains. The objective of this experiment was to learn more about the recovery and germinability of seeds from 17 plant species after either actual or simulated ingestion (i.e. insertion through a rumen fistula) by Kazakh sheep. The passage time of seeds through the sheep gut ranged from 12 to 96 h. More than 80% of all recovered seeds were defecated 24–48 h after ingestion. The mean retention time of seeds in the gut ranged from 27.3 to 42.2 h. Seed recovery percentage ranged between 12.6 and 17.6% for leguminous species and between 0.8 and 3.2% for gramineous species. Seed recovery percentage was positively correlated with seed mass, but negatively correlated with seed shape. The germination percentages of the gramineous species were greater in the non-ingested treatment (66–98%) than in the simulated ingestion treatment (3–10%). In contrast, for leguminous species, seed germination percentages were greater in the simulated ingestion treatment (23–70%) than in the non-ingested one (5–12%). Seed germination percentage after simulated ingestion was positively correlated with seed mass, but negatively correlated with seed shape. In conclusion, leguminous seeds were more likely than gramineous ones to pass through the gut of Kazakh sheep and then germinate. Free-ranging Kazakh sheep can contribute to the spread of plant species, especially leguminous species, in the Tianshan Mountains.

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The effect of cryopreservation on germination of dandelion seeds

Plant Protection Science ◽

10.17221/2257-pps ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 43 (No. 2) ◽

pp. 63-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Z. Martinková ◽

A. Honěk

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Germination Rate ◽

Seed Storage ◽

Taraxacum Officinale ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Systematic Change ◽

Long Day ◽

Germination Experiments ◽

Germinating Seeds ◽

Seed Cryopreservation

Germination experiments frequently use seeds that had been stored frozen. We investigated whether short, 5 day freezing changes percentage and rate of germination of seeds of dandelion (Taraxacum officinale agg.). Seeds (i) collected at dispersal, (ii) dried at +50°C for 5 days, (iii) frozen at –20°C for 5 days, (iv) dried for 5 days and subsequently frozen for 5 days, and (v) frozen and subsequently dried, were then germinated at +10°C and a long-day photoperiod. None of the temperature pre-treatments affected the proportion of germinating seeds. By contrast, the time to germinate 50% of the seed (germination time) was shortened slightly (0.7 days) but significantly following the freezing treatment, regardless of whether it was applied without, before or after drying of the seed. Cryopreservation is therefore a convenient method of seed storage for comparative studies of seed germination because it causes no change in germination percentage and only a small and systematic change in germination rate.

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Variation in fruit and seed traits and seed germination among different populations of Eremosparton songoricum

Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1258.2012.00802 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 36 (8) ◽

pp. 802-811

Author(s):

Hui-Liang LIU ◽

Yong-Kuan ZHANG ◽

Dao-Yuan ZHANG ◽

Lin-Ke YIN ◽

Yuan-Ming ZHANG

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Seed Traits ◽

Different Populations

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Effect of H2O-Based Low-Pressure Plasma (LPP) Treatment on the Germination of Bambara Groundnut Seeds

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11020338 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 338

Author(s):

Naeem Ahmed ◽

Asad Masood ◽

Kim S. Siow ◽

M. F. Mohd Razip Wee ◽

Rahmat Zaki Auliya ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Seed Germination ◽

Chemical Modification ◽

Low Pressure ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Bambara Groundnut ◽

Pressure Plasma ◽

Low Pressure Plasma ◽

Amine Groups

In general, seed germination is improved by low-pressure plasma (LPP) treatment using precursors such as air, nitrogen, argon, or water (H2O). Here, H2O-based LPP treatment using the optimized parameters of 10 W and 10 s improves the germination of Bambara groundnut seeds by 22%. LPP increases the wettability and roughness of the seed hilum while oxidizing the surface with carboxyl and amine groups. In this H2O-based treatment of Bambara groundnut seeds, combinatory etching and chemical modification facilitated the imbibition process and increased the germination percentage. The success of this method has the potential to be scaled up to solve food security with seeds otherwise facing germination-related issues.

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Asymbiotic germination of Vanilla planifolia in relation to the timing of seed collection and seed pretreatments

Botanical Studies ◽

10.1186/s40529-021-00311-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 62 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Chih-Hsin Yeh ◽

Kai-Yi Chen ◽

Yung-I. Lee

Keyword(s):

Seed Germination ◽

Seed Development ◽

Seed Coat ◽

Germination Percentage ◽

Vanilla Planifolia ◽

Outermost Layer ◽

Seed Collection ◽

Seed Pretreatment ◽

Immature Seeds ◽

Mature Seeds

Abstract Background Vanilla planifolia is an important tropical orchid for production of natural vanilla flavor. Traditionally, V. planifolia is propagated by stem cuttings, which produces identical genotype that are sensitive to virulent pathogens. However, propagation with seed germination of V. planifolia is intricate and unstable because the seed coat is extremely hard with strong hydrophobic nature. A better understanding of seed development, especially the formation of impermeable seed coat would provide insights into seed propagation and conservation of genetic resources of Vanilla. Results We found that soaking mature seeds in 4% sodium hypochlorite solution from 75 to 90 min significantly increased germination. For the culture of immature seeds, the seed collection at 45 days after pollination (DAP) had the highest germination percentage. We then investigated the anatomical features during seed development that associated with the effect of seed pretreatment on raising seed germination percentage. The 45-DAP immature seeds have developed globular embryos and the thickened non-lignified cell wall at the outermost layer of the outer seed coat. Seeds at 60 DAP and subsequent stages germinated poorly. As the seed approached maturity, the cell wall of the outermost layer of the outer seed coat became lignified and finally compressed into a thick envelope at maturity. On toluidine blue O staining, the wall of outer seed coat stained greenish blue, indicating the presence of phenolic compounds. As well, on Nile red staining, a cuticular substance was detected in the surface wall of the embryo proper and the innermost wall of the inner seed coat. Conclusion We report a reliable protocol for seed pretreatment of mature seeds and for immature seeds culture based on a defined time schedule of V. plantifolia seed development. The window for successful germination of culturing immature seed was short. The quick accumulation of lignin, phenolics and/or phytomelanins in the seed coat may seriously inhibit seed germination after 45 DAP. As seeds matured, the thickened and lignified seed coat formed an impermeable envelope surrounding the embryo, which may play an important role in inducing dormancy. Further studies covering different maturity of green capsules are required to understand the optimal seed maturity and germination of seeds.

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