Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-wxhwt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-13T20:04:36.010Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Very fast-germinating seeds of desert species are cryptoviparous-like

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2013

Kun Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, P.R. China
Jerry M. Baskin
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY40506, USA
Carol C. Baskin
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY40506, USA Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY40546, USA
Guozhen Du*
Affiliation:
Department of Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou730000, P.R. China
*
*Correspondence E-mail: guozdu@lzu.edu.cn

Abstract

From previously published studies we have learned that very fast-germinating species have some characteristics in common with cryptoviviparous species: (1) little or no endosperm/perisperm; (2) embryos fully developed and chlorophyllous at seed maturity; and (3) very fast germination, independent of temperature. Thus, we propose that these very fast-germinating seeds are ‘cryptoviviparous-like′.

Type
Research Opinion
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barrero, J.M., Jacobsen, J.V., Talbot, M.J., White, R.G., Swain, S.M., Garvin, D.F. and Gubler, F. (2012) Grain dormancy and light quality effects on germination in the model grass Brachypodium distachyon. New Phytologist 193, 376386.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baskin, C.C. and Baskin, J.M. (1998) Seeds: ecology, biogeography, and evolution of dormancy and germination. San Diego, USA, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Clauss, M.J. and Venable, D.L. (2000) Seed germination in desert annuals: an empirical test of adaptive bet-hedging. American Naturalist 155, 168186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cota-Sánchez, J.H. (2004) Vivipary in the Cactaceae: its taxonomic occurrence and biological significance. Flora 199, 481490.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cota-Sánchez, J.H., Reyes-Olivas, Á. and Sanchez-Soto, B. (2007) Vivipary in coastal cacti: a potential reproductive strategy in halophytic environments. American Journal of Botany 94, 15771581.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cota-Sánchez, J.H., Reyes-Olivas, Á. and Abreu, D.D. (2011) Vivipary in the cactus family: a reply to Ortega-Baes’ evaluation of 25 species from northwestern Argentina. Journal of Arid Environments 75, 878880.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eddleman, L.E. (1979) Germination in black greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus (Hook.) Torr.). Northwest Science 53, 289294.Google Scholar
Elmqvist, T. and Cox, P.A. (1996) The evolution of vivipary in flowering plants. Oikos 77, 39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farnsworth, E. (2000) The ecology and physiology of viviparous and recalcitrant seeds. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 31, 107138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farnsworth, E.J. and Farrant, J.M. (1998) Reductions in abscisic acid are linked with viviparous reproduction in mangroves. American Journal of Botany 85, 760769.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goebel, K.E. (1905) Organography of plants. New York, Hafner.Google Scholar
Grenot, C.J. (1974) Physical and vegetational aspects of the Sahara Desert. pp. 103164in Brown, G.W. Jr (Ed.) Desert biology, Vol. II. New York, Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gubler, F., Millar, A.A. and Jacobsen, J.V. (2005) Dormancy release, ABA and pre-harvest sprouting. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 8, 183187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gul, B., Khan, M.A. and Weber, D.J. (2001) Seed germination of Sarcobatus vermiculatus: a halophytic shrub from the Great Basin Desert. Pakistan Journal of Botany 33, 473482.Google Scholar
Gutterman, Y. (1972) Delayed seed dispersal and rapid germination of survival mechanisms of the desert plant Blepharis persica (Burm.) Kuntz. Oecologia 10, 145149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haferkamp, M.R., Ganskopp, D.C., Marietta, K.L. and Knapp, B.W. (1990) Environmental influences on germination of utricles and seedling establishment of ‘immigrant’ forage kochia. Journal of Range Management 43, 518522.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holdsworth, M., Bentsink, L. and Koornneef, M. (2007) Conserved mechanisms of dormancy and germination as targets for manipulation of agricultural problems. pp. 1132in Varshney, R.K.; Koeber, R.M.D. (Eds) Model plants and crop improvement. Boca Raton, Florida, CRC Press.Google Scholar
Martin, A.C. (1946) The comparative internal morphology of seeds. American Midland Naturalist 36, 513660.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Negbi, M., and Evenari, M. (1961) The means of survival of some desert summer annuals. Arid Zone Research 16, 249–259 (+ plates XXVII–XXX). Paris, UNESCO.Google Scholar
Orlovsky, N.S., Japakova, U.N., Shulgina, I. and Volis, S. (2011) Comparative study of seed germination and growth of Kochia prostrata and Kochia scoparia (Chenopodiaceae) under salinity. Journal of Arid Environments 75, 532537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsons, F.R. (2012) Incidence and ecology of very fast germination. Seed Science Research 22, 161167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romo, J.T. and Eddleman, L.E. (1985) Germination response of greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus) to temperature, water potential and specific ions. Journal of Range Management 38, 117120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romo, J.T. and Haferkamp, M.R. (1987) Forage kochia germination response to temperature, water stress, and specific ions. Agronomy Journal 79, 2730.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharma, T.P. and Sen, D.N. (1989) A new report on abnormally fast germinating seeds of Haloxylon spp. – an ecological adaptation to saline habitat. Current Science 58, 382385.Google Scholar
Song, J., Fan, H., Zhao, Y., Jia, Y., Du, X. and Wang, B. (2008) Effect of salinity on germination, seedling emergence, seedling growth and ion accumulation of a euhalophyte Suaeda salsa in an intertidal zone and on saline inland. Aquatic Botany 88, 331337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomlinson, P.B. (1986) The botany of mangroves. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
van der Pijl, L. (1982) Principles of dispersal in higher plants (3rd edition). Berlin, Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Rooyen, M.W., Grobbelaar, N., Theron, G.K. and Van Rooyen, N. (1992) The ephemerals of Namaqualand: effect of germination date on development of three species. Journal of Arid Environments 22, 5166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Venable, D.L. (1985) The evolutionary ecology of seed hetermomorphism. American Naturalist 126, 577595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallace, A., Rhods, W.A. and Frolich, E.F. (1968) Germination behaviour of Salsola as influenced by temperature, moisture, depth of planting and gamma irradiation. Agronomy Journal 60, 7678.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, L., Huang, Z.Y., Baskin, C.C., Baskin, J.M. and Dong, M. (2008) Germination of dimorphic seeds of the desert annual halophyte Suaeda aralocaspica (Chenopodiaceae), a C4 plant without Kranz anatomy. Annals of Botany 102, 757769.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wei, Y., Dong, M. and Huang, Z.Y. (2007) Seed polymorphism, dormancy and germination of Salsola affinis (Chenopodiaceae), a dominant desert annual inhabiting the Junggar Basin of Xinjiang, China. Australian Journal of Botany 55, 464470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wei, Y., Dong, M., Huang, Z.Y. and Tan, D.Y. (2008) Factors influencing seed germination of Salsola affinis (Chenopodiaceae), a dominant annual halophyte inhabiting the deserts of Xinjiang, China. Flora 203, 134140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yao, S., Chen, S., Zhao, J., Xu, D., Lan, H. and Zhang, H. (2010) Effects of three salts on germination and seedling survival of dimorphic seeds of Chenopodium album. Botany 88, 821828.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, J.A. and Evans, R.A. (1972) Germination and establishment of Salsola in relation to seedbed environment. I. Temperature, afterripening and moisture relations of Salsola seeds as determined by laboratory studies. Agronomy Journal 64, 214218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, J.A., Evans, R.A., Stevens, R. and Everett, R.L. (1981) Germination of Kochia prostrata seed. Agronomy Journal 73, 957961.CrossRefGoogle Scholar