Geographic variation in the flood - induced fluctuating temperature requirement for germination in Setaria parviflora seeds

Our aim was to search for specific seed germinative strategies related to flooding escape in Setaria parviflora, a common species across the Americas. For this purpose, we investigated induction after floods, in relation to fluctuating temperature requirements for germination in seeds from mountain, floodplain and successional grasslands. A laboratory experiment was conducted in which seeds were imbibed or immersed in water at 5°C. Seeds were also buried in flood-prone and upland grasslands and exhumed during the flooding season. Additionally, seeds were buried in flooded or drained grassland mesocosms. Germination of exhumed seeds was assayed at 25°C or at 20°C/30°C in the dark or in the presence of red light pulses. After submergence or soil flooding, a high fraction [less than 32 percent] of seeds from the floodplain required fluctuating temperatures to germinate. In contrast, seeds from the mountains showed maximum differences in germination between fluctuating and constant temperature treatment only after imbibition [35 percent] or in non-flooded soil conditions [40 percent]. The fluctuating temperature requirement was not clearly related to the foregoing conditions in the successional grassland seeds. Maximum germination could also be attained with red light pulses to seeds from mountain and successional grasslands. Results show that the fluctuating temperature requirement might help floodplain seeds to germinate after floods, indicating a unique feature of the dormancy of S. parviflora seeds from floodplains, which suggests an adaptive advantage aimed at postponing emergence during inundation periods. In contrast, the fluctuating temperature required for germination among seeds from mountain and successional grasslands show its importance for gap detection.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mollard, Federico Pedro Otto, Insausti, Pedro
Format: Texto biblioteca
Language:eng
Subjects:ECOTYPES, FLOODPLAIN, GRASSLAND, PAMPA, SEED DORMANCY, SEED GERMINATION, VEGETATION GAPS, WATER, ECOTYPE, FLOOD, GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION, GRASS, IMBIBITION, MESOCOSM, SEED, TEMPERATURE INVERSION, ADAPTATION, ECOSYSTEM, FLOODING, PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS, PHYSIOLOGY, PLANT SEED, SEDIMENT, ADAPTATION, PHYSIOLOGICAL, FLOODS, GEOLOGIC SEDIMENTS, GERMINATION, LIGHT, POACEAE, SEEDS, STRESS, PHYSIOLOGICAL, TEMPERATURE, SETARIA [PLANT], SETARIA PARVIFLORA,
Online Access:http://ceiba.agro.uba.ar/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=46571
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!