Maternal habitat affects germination requirements of Anabasis setifera, a succulent shrub of the Arabian deserts

Abstract

The effects of maternal habitat on light and temperature requirements during germination were assessed for the succulent desert shrub Anabasis setifera. Seeds were collected from the Mediterranean habitats of Egypt and the hyper-arid subtropical habitats of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Seeds from the two populations were germinated in three temperature treatments in both a light/dark regime and continuous darkness. Seeds from the Egyptian population germinated significantly greater and faster than those of UAE. Seeds stored for four months at room temperatures have little dormancy and germinate at wide range of temperatures and light conditions, but seeds stored four months in the natural habitat lost their ability to germinate and rotted 10 days after incubation. The germination response to temperature depended on the habitat type. Seeds of the Egyptian population attained a significantly greater germination at lower temperatures, compared with seeds from the UAE population, but there was no difference in germination between the two populations at higher temperatures. Germination of A. setifera was very fast; most seeds germinated within four days. These results reflect the adaptive strategy of germination in both populations, and may help explain the wide distribution of this species in different climatic regions.

Assessment of coastal salt marsh plants on the Arabian Gulf region

“…And ( Rao et al, 2017 ) germinated four species Distichlis spicata , Paspalum vaginatum , Sporobolus virginicus and S. arabicu. Whereas, Keblawy et.al germinated one species Salsola imbricata, Anabasis setifera, and Suaeda aegyptiacais each report respectively ( El-Keblawy et al, 2007 , El-Keblawy et al, 2016a , El-Keblawy et al, 2016b , El-Keblawy et al, 2017 ). While Rasool et al (2019) tested the potential germination of Halopeplis perfoliata .…”

Adaptation of Halophytes to Different Habitats

“…Light and temperature, as well as water potential, are key environmental signals that can regulate the time of seed germination, which in turn controls seedling emergence and survival [63]. Agricultural crops tend to germinate in darkness, due to the domestication of species for crop production, whereas halophytic seeds growing in the wild are accustomed to germinating in the light.…”

Seed mass, dormancy and germinability variation among maternal plants of four Arabian halophytes

“…Abiotic factors such as temperature, light, salinity and their interactions have been shown to have an effect of germination in many halophytic species, including Anabasis setifera , Atriplex canescens , Halocnmum strobilaceum , Halothamnus iraqensis , Haloxylon salicornicum , Halopeplis perfoliata , Limonium stocksii , Salsola vermiculata , Salsola schweinfurthii , Suaeda aegyptiaca and Seidlitzia rosmarinus (Zia and Khan, 2004; El-Keblawy and Bhatt, 2015; Bhatt and Santo, 2016). Interpopulation differences in seed dormancy and germination has been identified in Anabasis setifera (El-Keblawy et al, 2016a,b), Limonium avei (Santo et al, 2017), Salsola drummondii (Elnaggar et al, 2019), Suaeda aegyptiaca (El-Keblawy et al, 2017) and Suaeda vermiculata (El-Keblawy et al, 2018). Interpopulation variation has been attributed to differences in both population genetics and maternal environment (Baloch et al, 2001; Donohue et al, 2005; Narbona et al, 2006), although these studies have not used genotype by environment trial designs, instead relying on studies of maternal plants grown in similar microclimates and seeds produced during similar periods.…”