Seed dormancy and the control of germination

Finch‐Savage, William E.; Leubner‐Metzger, Gerhard

doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2006.01787.x

Cited by 2,559 publications

(2,266 citation statements)

References 144 publications

(339 reference statements)

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“…In general, seeds are considered as 'dry' when they have less than 0.2 g water (g dry weight) 21 (Bewley et al, 2013). AR is a process regulated by time and environment (temperature and moisture), which increases the sensitivity of seeds to spatial environmental signals that allow completion of germination (Finch-Savage and Leubner-Metzger, 2006;FinchSavage et al, 2007;Carrera et al, 2008).…”

Section: Changes In the Dry State (Afterripening)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…spatial signals are only effective if temporal sensing has enhanced sensitivity to them. Thus a dormancy continuum is thought to exist, driven in both directions by environmental signals, and when all dormancy layers are removed germination occurs (Finch-Savage and Leubner-Metzger, 2006;FinchSavage and Footitt, 2012). In the annual dormancy cycle, if the correct spatial window does not occur, sensitivity is lost and the temporal window will close for another year.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seed dormancy is a dynamic state: variable responses to pre- and post-shedding environmental signals in seeds of contrastingArabidopsisecotypes

2015

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Seeds have evolved to be highly efficient environmental sensors that respond not only to their prevailing environment, but also their environmental history, to regulate dormancy and the initiation of germination. In the present work we investigate the combined impact of a number of environmental signals (temperature, nitrate, light) during seed development on the mother plant, during post-shedding imbibition and during prolonged post-shedding exposure in both dry and imbibed states, simulating time in the soil seed bank. The differing response to these environments was observed in contrasting winter (Cvi, Ler) and summer (Bur) annual Arabidopsis ecotypes. Results presented show that environmental signals both pre-and post-shedding determine the depth of physiological dormancy and therefore the germination response to the ambient environment. The ecotype differences in seed response to ambient germination conditions are greatly enhanced by seed maturation in different environments. Further variation in response develops following shedding when seeds do not receive the full complement of environmental signals required for germination and enter the soil seed bank in either dry or imbibed states. Species seed dormancy characteristics cannot therefore be easily defined, as seed dormancy is a dynamic state subject to within-species adaptation to local environments.

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Section: Changes In the Dry State (Afterripening)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed dormancy is a dynamic state: variable responses to pre- and post-shedding environmental signals in seeds of contrastingArabidopsisecotypes

2015

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“…Dormancy is an innate "whole-seed" characteristic that defines the environmental conditions that must be satisfied to initiate germination. Dormancy will prevent germination until specific environmental conditions trigger testa rupture, and these conditions are typically speciesspecific [40][41]. In seed viability bioassays, seeds of seven of the twelve plant species were able to germinate on high organic control soils, whereas only four species germinated on the low OC soil.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of hydrocarbons from a diesel fuel on the germination and early growth of subantarctic plants

Macoustra

King

Wasley

et al. 2015

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts

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. (2015). Impact of hydrocarbons from a diesel fuel on the germination and early growth of subantarctic plants. Environmental Science Processes and Impacts, 17 (7), 1238-1248. Impact of hydrocarbons from a diesel fuel on the germination and early growth of subantarctic plants AbstractSpecial Antarctic Blend (SAB) is a diesel fuel dominated by aliphatic hydrocarbons that is commonly used in Antarctic and subantarctic regions. The past and present use of SAB fuel at Australia's scientific research stations has resulted in multiple spills, contaminating soils in these pristine areas. Despite this, no soil quality guidelines or remediation targets have been developed for the region, primarily due to the lack of established indigenous test species and subsequent biological effects data. In this study, twelve plant species native to subantarctic regions were collected from Macquarie Island and evaluated to determine their suitably for use in laboratory-based toxicity testing, using germination success and seedling growth (shoot and root length) as endpoints. Two soil types (low and high organic carbon (OC)) were investigated to reflect the variable OC content found in soils on Macquarie Island. These soils were spiked with SAB fuel and aged for 14 days to generate a concentration series of SAB-contaminated soils. Exposure doses were quantified as the concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH, nC9-nC18) on a soil dry mass basis. Seven species successfully germinated on control soils under laboratory conditions, and four of these species (Colobanthus muscoides Hook.f., Deschampsia chapmanii Petrie, Epilobium pendunculare A.Cunn. and Luzula crinita Hook.f.) showed a dose-dependent inhibition of germination when exposed to SAB-contaminated soils. Contaminated soils with low OC were generally more toxic to plants than high organic carbon soils. Increasing soil-TPH concentrations significantly inhibited shoot and root growth, and root length was identified as the most sensitive endpoint. Although the test species were tolerant to SAB-contaminated soils in germination assays, development of early life stages (up to 28 days) were generally more sensitive indicator of exposure effects, and may be more useful endpoints for future testing. Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication DetailsMacoustra, G. K., King, C. K., Wasley, J., Robinson, S. A. & Jolley, D. F. (2015). Impact of hydrocarbons from a diesel fuel on the germination and early growth of subantarctic plants. Environmental Science Processes and Impacts, 17 (7) Keywords: total petroleum hydrocarbons, total organic carbon, monocots, dicots, germination, root and shoot growth. 2 ABSTRACTSpecial Antarctic Blend (SAB) is a diesel fuel dominated by aliphatic hydrocarbons that is commonly used in Antarctic and subantarctic regions. The past and present use of SAB fuel at Australia's scientific research stations has resulted in multiple spills, contaminating soils in these pristine areas. Despite this, no soil quality guidel...

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“…In addition, the dispersal time (winter) and nitrogen competition in late succession may force species to have different germination strategies (Liu et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2015). For instance, a low seed germination rate is an indicator of high seed physiological dormancy, which decreases postdispersal mortality of seeds that have been dispersed in the winter, when water availability is limited (Finch‐Savage & Leubner‐Metzger, 2006; Hu et al., 2013). However, the high nitrogen competitive environment in late succession may lead to late‐successional species having high rates of germination (i.e., accelerated germination) (Orrock & Christopher, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional traits associated with plant colonizing and competitive ability influence species abundance during secondary succession: Evidence from subalpine meadows of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Zhang

Liu

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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It is widely recognized that colonists and competitors dominate early and late succession, respectively, with selected species having different colonizing and competitive abilities. However, it remains unknown whether colonizing and competitive ability can determine species abundance directly over succession. The data for five key functional traits were collected (photosynthesis rate, leaf turgor loss point, leaf proline content, seed mass, and seed germination rate), which are direct indicators of plant competitive and colonizing abilities including growth, drought and cold stress resistance, dispersal, and seed dormancy. Here, we tested the effects of colonizing and competitive abilities on species abundance, by employing a linear mixed‐effects model to examine the shifts in the relationship between species abundance and these five colonization and competition‐related traits in species‐rich subalpine secondary successional meadows (at 4, 6, 10, 13 years of age, and undisturbed, respectively) of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The abundant species at the early‐successional meadows tend to have high photosynthetic rate, high leaf proline content, low seed mass, and seed germination rate for having high colonizing ability, but low competitive ability. By contrast, late‐successional communities tend to be dominated by species with high competitive ability, but low colonizing ability, indicated by large seeds, high seed germination rate, low photosynthetic rate, and leaf proline content. The observed directional shifts in the relationships between traits (photosynthetic rate, leaf proline content, seed mass, and seed germination rate) and abundance with successional age, bring two new understandings of community assembly during succession of subalpine meadows in the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. First, it discloses that the differences in species abundance over succession can be directly attributed to differences in colonizing and competitive abilities of different species. Second, it expands the effects of multiple life historical differences including growth, resource competitive ability, cold stress resistance, dispersal, and seed germination strategy, represented by functional traits on community assembly along succession, that is, from the species to the community level.

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Seed dormancy and the control of germination

Cited by 2,559 publications

References 144 publications

Seed dormancy is a dynamic state: variable responses to pre- and post-shedding environmental signals in seeds of contrastingArabidopsisecotypes

Seed dormancy is a dynamic state: variable responses to pre- and post-shedding environmental signals in seeds of contrastingArabidopsisecotypes

Impact of hydrocarbons from a diesel fuel on the germination and early growth of subantarctic plants

Functional traits associated with plant colonizing and competitive ability influence species abundance during secondary succession: Evidence from subalpine meadows of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

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