Abstract
The zanthoxylum seeds are oil-rich and have a very thick, dense and oily shell. In the natural conditions the seeds have a very low germination rate. Prior to treatment with GAs to promote germination, the seeds were usually soaked in sulfuric acid to remove shells easily. A high-throughput sequencing of mRNAs was performed to investigate the effects of the above treatments on the germination of zanthoxylum seeds. Seven libraries were assembled into 100,982 unigenes and 59,509 unigenes were annotated. We focused on the expression profiles of the key genes related to the oil metabolisms and hormone regulations during seed germination. Our data indicated the endogenous ABA of seeds was rich. The effects that the exogenous GAs promoted germination were apparent in the secong day of germination. Especially, for the first time our results indicated the exogenous GAs lowered the aerobic metabolism including the oil metabolisms during imbibition. We inferred that the exogenous GAs had inhibitory effects on the oil metabolisms to avoide oxidative damages to the imbibed seeds, and the seed shell played the role similiar to the exogenous GAs in the initial stage of germination in the natural conditions.
Highlights
Zanthoxylum dissitum Hemsl.(zanthoxylum), a commonly used medicinal plant in China, usually grows in the mountainous region of 500 ~ 1200 meters above sea level in southern China
The results showed that the oxidation-reduction, metabolic process and response to stimulus and stress were related to various physiological functions associated with the seed germination of zanthoxylum
Our results indicated the mRNA degradation was less active but RNA processing was more active in GA1 seeds than those in W1 seeds, indicating GA1 seeds were in a favorable germination state
Summary
Zanthoxylum dissitum Hemsl.(zanthoxylum), a commonly used medicinal plant in China, usually grows in the mountainous region of 500 ~ 1200 meters above sea level in southern China. The seeds of zanthoxylum seldom germinated and were usually soaked in 80% sulfuric acid for three minutes to remove shells before treated by gibberellins (GAs) to promote germination. The β-oxidation of fatty acid involves reserve mobilization and developmental signaling during germination[5,6,7]. Brassinosteroids (BRs) function in growth and developmental events, including cell elongation, seed germination, and etc[18, 19]. Jasmonates (JAs) are essential signaling molecules modulating the plant response to biotic and abiotic stresses as well as several growth and developmental traits[21, 22]. Our previous research showed that the germination rate of the GAs-treated seeds with shells removed was above 80%, but the water-treated seeds usually failed to germinate and decayed in the third day of germination. The expressions of the genes associated with early stages of germination were investigated to reveal the effects of the above treatments on the seed germination
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