Induction Of Seed Germination Research Articles

Effects of different treatments on seed germination and breaking seed dormancy of Prosopis koelziana and Prosopis Juliflora

For improving seed germination of Prosopis koelziana and Prosopis juliflora, different treatments of seeds were conducted, including scarification with sulfuric acid 98% for 10 and 15 min, sandy paper, hot water for 5 and 10 min, potasium nitrate 0.1%, gibberellic acid at 250 mg·L−1 and 500 mg·L−1 and combinational treatment of scarification with gibberellic acid of 250 mg·L−1 and 500 mg·L−1. The results show that scarifications with sandy paper and sulfuric acids 98% were the most effective treatments on breaking seed dormancy and seed germination induction. Scarification with sulfuric acid 98% for 15 min was the best treatment. According to the positive effect of scarification and lack of reaction of seeds against KNO3 and gibberellic acid, the kind of seed dormancy was determined as exogenous.

Induction of Seed Germination in Cistus heterophyllus (Cistaceae): A Rock Rose Critically Endangered in Spain

Induction of Seed Germination in Cistus heterophyllus (Cistaceae): A Rock Rose Critically Endangered in Spain

Role of Phytochrome B in the Induction of Seed Germination by Light in Arabidopsis thaliana

Summary The role played by phytochrome B in seed germination responses to light pulses was investigated by comparing wild-type (WT) and phyB-1 -mutant seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Similar dark germination rates were observed in WT and phyB-1 seeds stored dry for at least one month. The response of WT seeds to light pulses that established a series of calculated phytochrome photoequilibria was biphasic. In the first phase, i.e. the very-low-fluence response, similar slopes were observed in WT and phyB-1 -mutant seeds. In the second phase, i.e. the low-fluence response, the slope of the WT was 30 to 930% higher (depending on the batch, duration of dry storage, and temperature pretratements) than the slope of the phyB-1 mutant. Both hourly pulses of FR and continuous FR promoted germination above dark controls in both genotypes. Phytochrome B is proposed to make a higher contribution to low-fluence than very-low-fluence germination responses of Arabidopsis thaliana seeds.

The Induction of Seed Germination in Arabidopsis thaliana Is Regulated Principally by Phytochrome B and Secondarily by Phytochrome A.

We examined whether spectrally active phytochrome A (PhyA) and phytochrome B (PhyB) play specific roles in the induction of seed germination in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh., using PhyA- and PhyB-null mutants, fre1-1 (A. Nagatani, J.W. Reed, J. Chory [1993] Plant Physiol 102: 269-277) and hy3-Bo64 (J. Reed, P.Nagpal, D.S. Poole, M. Furuya, J. Chory [1993] Plant Cell 5: 147-157). When dormant seeds of each genotype imbibed in the dark on aqueous agar plates, the hy3 (phyB) mutant did not germinate, whereas the fre1 (phyA) mutant germinated at a rate of 50 to 60%, and the wild type (WT) germinated at a rate of 60 to 70%. By contrast, seeds of all genotypes germinated to nearly 100% when plated in continuous irradiation with white or red light. When plated in continuous far-red light, however, frequencies of seed germination of the WT and the fre1 and hy3 mutants averaged 14, nearly 0, and 47%, respectively, suggesting that PhyB in the red-absorbing form prevents PhyA-dependent germination under continuous far-red light. When irradiated briefly with red or far-red light after imbibition for 1 h, a typical photoreversible effect on seed germination was observed in the fre1 mutant and the WT but not in the hy3 mutant. In contrast, when allowed to imbibe in the dark for 24 to 48 h and exposed to red light, the seed germination frequencies of the hy3 mutant were more than 40%. Immunoblot analyses of the mutant seeds showed that PhyB apoprotein accumulated in dormant seeds of the WT and the fre1 mutant as much as in the seeds that had imbibed. In contrast, PhyA apoprotein, although detected in etiolated seedlings grown in the dark for 5 d, was not detectable in the dormant seeds of the WT and the hy3 mutant. The above physiological and immunochemical evidence indicates that PhyB in the far-red-absorbing form was stored in the Arabidopsis seeds and resulted in germination in the dark. Hence, PhyA does not play any role in dark germination but induces germination under continuous irradiation with far-red light. Finally, we examined seeds from a signal transduction mutant, det1, and a det1/hy3 double mutant. The det1 seeds exhibited photoreversible responses of germination on aqueous agar plates, and the det1/hy3 double mutant seeds did not. Hence, DET1 is likely to act in a distinct pathway from PhyB in the photoregulation of seed germination.