Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T17:10:12.116Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Oxygen interacts with priming, moisture content and temperature to affect the longevity of lettuce and onion seeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2011

Andrés R. Schwember
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Science, Faculty of Agronomy and Forestry Engineering, Pontificia Catholic University of Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile
Kent J. Bradford*
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Sciences, Seed Biotechnology Center, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, CA95616-8780, USA
*
*Correspondence Fax: +1-530-754-7222 Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and onion (Allium cepa L.) seeds have relatively short longevity during storage and their germination is sensitive to environmental stress. Seed priming (controlled hydration followed by drying) can improve seed germination under stressful conditions, inducing faster and more uniform germination over broader temperature ranges, but it can also reduce seed longevity in storage. Controlled deterioration (CD) tests are often employed to study longevity by ageing seeds rapidly at elevated temperature and moisture content, and primed seeds are particularly sensitive to CD conditions. As reactive oxygen (O2) species are thought to be involved in seed deterioration, we tested whether storage under reduced O2 atmospheres (0 and 2% O2) would extend the longevity of primed and non-primed seeds under low relative humidity (RH) (33% RH+37°C) and CD (75% RH+50°C) storage conditions. The longevity of both non-primed and primed lettuce seeds in low RH storage was extended by anaerobic environments, but the effect of O2 was much less under CD conditions. In onion, only primed seeds exhibited a beneficial effect of low O2 atmospheres under both types of ageing conditions. In both species, storage under anaerobic conditions was beneficial for extending the longevity of primed seeds, but was not able to ameliorate fully the negative effect of priming on storage life.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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

Bailly, C. (2004) Active oxygen species and antioxidants in seed biology. Seed Science Research 14, 93107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailly, C., El-Maarouf-Bouteau, H. and Corbineau, F. (2008) From intracellular signaling networks to cell death: the dual role of reactive oxygen species in seed physiology. Comptes Rendus Biologies 331, 806814.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Black, M., Bewley, J.D. and Halmer, P. (2006) The encyclopedia of seeds: science, technology and uses. Wallingford, UK, CAB International.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruggink, G.T., Ooms, J.J.J. and van der Toorn, P. (1999) Induction of longevity in primed seeds. Seed Science Research 9, 4953.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calucci, L., Capocchi, A., Galleschi, L., Ghiringhelli, S., Pinzino, C., Saviozzi, F. and Zandomeneghi, M. (2004) Antioxidants, free radicals, storage proteins, puroindolines, and proteolytic activities in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) seeds during accelerated aging. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 52, 42744281.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Caseiro, R., Bennett, M.A. and Marcos, J. (2004) Comparison of three priming techniques for onion seed lots differing in initial seed quality. Seed Science and Technology 32, 365375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dearman, J., Brocklehurst, P.A. and Drew, R.L.K. (1986) Effects of osmotic priming and aging on onion seed germination. Annals of Applied Biology 108, 639648.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doria, E., Galleschi, L., Calucci, L., Pinzino, C., Pilu, R., Cassani, E. and Nielsen, E. (2009) Phytic acid prevents oxidative stress in seeds: evidence from a maize (Zea mays L.) low phytic acid mutant. Journal of Experimental Botany 60, 967978.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Drew, R.L.K., Hands, L.J. and Gray, D. (1997) Relating the effects of priming to germination of unprimed seeds. Seed Science and Technology 25, 537548.Google Scholar
Ellis, R.H. and Hong, T.D. (2007) Seed longevity – moisture content relationships in hermetic and open storage. Seed Science and Technology 35, 423431.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, R.H. and Roberts, E.H. (1981) The quantification of aging and survival in orthodox seeds. Seed Science and Technology 9, 373409.Google Scholar
Ellis, R.H., Hong, T.D., Roberts, E.H. and Tao, K. (1990) Low moisture-content limits to relations between seed longevity and moisture. Annals of Botany 65, 493504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galleschi, L., Capocchi, A., Ghiringhelli, S. and Saviozzi, F. (2002) Antioxidants, free radicals, storage proteins, and proteolytic activities in wheat (Triticum durum) seeds during accelerated aging. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 50, 54505457.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harrison, B.J. and McLeish, J. (1954) Abnormalities of stored seeds. Nature 173, 593594.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hendry, G.A.F. (1993) Oxygen, free radical processes and seed longevity. Seed Science Research 3, 141153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heydecker, W., Higgins, J. and Gulliver, R.L. (1973) Accelerated germination by osmotic seed treatment. Nature 246, 4244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, H.J., Cunningham, J.D., Bradford, K.J. and Taylor, A.G. (2007) Primed lettuce seeds exhibit increased sensitivity to moisture content during controlled deterioration. HortScience 42, 14361439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ibrahim, A.E. and Roberts, E.H. (1983) Viability of lettuce seeds: I. Survival in hermetic storage. Journal of Experimental Botany 34, 620630.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ibrahim, A.E., Roberts, E.H. and Murdoch, A.J. (1983) Viability of lettuce seeds: II. Survival and oxygen uptake in osmotically controlled storage. Journal of Experimental Botany 34, 631640.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ISTA (2004) International Rules for Seed Testing (2004 edition). Bassersdorf, Switzerland, ISTA.Google Scholar
Justice, O.L. and Bass, L.N. (1978) Principles and practices of seed storage. Washington, DC, United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook No. 506.Google Scholar
Kibinza, S., Vinel, D., Côme, D., Bailly, C. and Corbineau, F. (2006) Sunflower seed deterioration as related to moisture content during ageing, energy metabolism and active oxygen species scavenging. Physiologia Plantarum 128, 496506.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kraak, H.L. and Vos, J. (1987) Seed viability constants for lettuce. Annals of Botany 59, 343349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lehner, A., Mamadou, N., Poels, P., Côme, D., Bailly, C. and Corbineau, F. (2008) Changes in soluble carbohydrates, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme activities in the embryo during ageing in wheat grains. Journal of Cereal Science 47, 555565.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maeda, H. and DellaPenna, D. (2007) Tocopherol functions in photosynthetic organisms. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 10, 260265.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDonald, M.B. (1999) Seed deterioration: physiology, repair and assessment. Seed Science and Technology 27, 177237.Google Scholar
McDonald, M.B. (2000) Seed priming. pp. 287325in Black, M.; Bewley, J.D. (Eds) Seed technology and its biological basis. Sheffield, UK, Sheffield Academic Press.Google Scholar
Ohlrogge, J.B. and Kernan, T.P. (1982) Oxygen-dependent aging of seeds. Plant Physiology 70, 791794.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pandey, D.K. (1989) Amelioration of the effect of ageing in onion seeds. Indian Journal of Plant Physiology 32, 379382.Google Scholar
Pourcel, L., Routaboul, J.M., Cheynier, V., Lepiniec, L. and Debeaujon, I. (2007) Flavonoid oxidation in plants: from biochemical properties to physiological functions. Trends in Plant Science 12, 2936.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Powell, A.A., Yule, L.J., Jing, H.-C., Groot, S.P.C., Bino, R.J. and Pritchard, H.W. (2000) The influence of aerated hydration seed treatment on seed longevity as assessed by the viability equations. Journal of Experimental Botany 51, 20312043.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Priestley, D.A., Werner, B.G. and Leopold, A.C. (1985) The susceptibility of soybean seed lipids to artificially-enhanced atmospheric oxidation. Journal of Experimental Botany 36, 16531659.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pukacka, S. and Ratajczak, E. (2007) Age-related biochemical changes during storage of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seeds. Seed Science Research 17, 4553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rao, N.K. and Roberts, E.H. (1990) The effect of oxygen on seed survival and accumulation of chromosome damage in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Seed Science and Technology 18, 229238.Google Scholar
Rao, N.K., Roberts, E.H. and Ellis, R.H. (1987) The influence of pre and post-storage hydration treatments on chromosomal aberrations, seedling abnormalities, and viability of lettuce seeds. Annals of Botany 60, 97108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rao, R.G.S., Singh, P.M. and Rai, M. (2006) Storability of onion seeds and effects of packaging and storage conditions on viability and vigour. Scientia Horticulturae 110, 16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Royal Botanic Gardens (2008) Kew Seed Information Database (SID). Version 7.1. http://data.kew.org/sid/ (accessed 24 February 2011).Google Scholar
Salama, A.M. and Pearce, R.S. (1993) Aging of cucumber and onion seeds: phospholipase D, lipoxygenase activity and changes in phospholipid content. Journal of Experimental Botany 44, 12531265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sattler, S.E., Gilliland, L.U., Magallanes-Lundback, M., Pollard, M. and DellaPenna, D. (2004) Vitamin E is essential for seed longevity, and for preventing lipid peroxidation during germination. Plant Cell 16, 14191432.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schwember, A.R. and Bradford, K.J. (2005) Drying rates following priming affect temperature sensitivity of germination and longevity of lettuce seeds. HortScience 40, 778781.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwember, A.R. and Bradford, K.J. (2010) Quantitative trait loci associated with longevity of lettuce seeds under conventional and controlled deterioration storage conditions. Journal of Experimental Botany 61, 44234436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sun, W.Q., Koh, D.C.Y. and Ong, C.M. (1997) Correlation of modified water sorption properties with the decline of storage stability of osmotically primed seeds of Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek. Seed Science Research 7, 391397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tajbakhsh, M., Brown, P.H., Gracie, A.J., Spurr, C.J., Donovan, N. and Clark, R.J. (2004) Mitigation of stunted root abnormality in onion (Allium cepa L.) using seed priming treatments. Seed Science and Technology 32, 683692.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarquis, A.M. and Bradford, K.J. (1992) Prehydration and priming treatments that advance germination also increase the rate of deterioration of lettuce seeds. Journal of Experimental Botany 43, 307317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tian, X., Song, S. and Lei, Y. (2008) Cell death and reactive oxygen species metabolism during accelerated ageing of soybean axes. Russian Journal of Plant Physiology 55, 3340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walters, C. (1998) Understanding the mechanisms and kinetics of seed aging. Seed Science Research 8, 223244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walters, C., Wheeler, L.M. and Grotenhuis, J.M. (2005) Longevity of seeds stored in a genebank: species characteristics. Seed Science Research 15, 120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walters, C., Ballesteros, D. and Vertucci, V.A. (2010) Structural mechanics of seed deterioration: standing the test of time. Plant Science 179, 565573.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, D.O. and McDonald, M.B. (1986) The lipid peroxidation model of seed ageing. Seed Science and Technology 14, 269300.Google Scholar