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Seed Germination and Environmental Cues
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Seed Germination and Environmental Cues

A special issue of Seeds (ISSN 2674-1024).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 19163

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Elias Soltani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding Sciences, Aboureihan Campus, University of Tehran, Pakdasht, Tehran, Iran
Interests: seed biology; seed ecology; seed dormancy; modeling; seed development and production
Prof. Dr. Carol Baskin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
Interests: seed dormancy; seed germination; biogeography of seed dormancy; evolution of seed dormancy
Prof. Dr. José Luis González Andújar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Crop Protection, Instituto for Sustainable Agriculture (CSIC), Córdoba, Spain
Interests: seed ecology; weed management; modeling; climate change

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It has been at least  350  million years since the first ovule (Elkinsia) appeared on earth, and a strong selection factor for the evolution of seeds has been the control of timing of germination so that it occurs when environmental conditions are favorable for seedling survival and growth. If seeds germination at the beginning of the favorable period for plant growth, seedlings will have the whole period in which to grow and become established. Timing of germination is controlled by two factors: seeds have become nondormant and their germination requirements, e.g. light/dak, mositure, temerpature and other  environmental cues such as ethylene, exudate from host roots or chemicals from fire are present in the habitat. Changes in temperature and soil moisture with the changing seasons can act as environmental cues to promote dormancy-break and the initiation of  germination. Photoblastic seeds, such as those of many weeds, require light to germination. In several forest species, fire can be a cue that breaks the physical dormancy of seeds and germination occurs in an open canopy without competition. Some seeds will germinate after passing through the digestive tract of an animal that can act as a cue to start germination.

There are still mysteries about how/what environmental cues can help seeds detect the right time to germinate. Thus, the purpose and scope of this Special Issue are to encourage the publication of review and/or experimental studies on ecology, physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology related to the effect of environmental cues on the breaking seed dormancy and  promotion of germination.

Dr. Elias Soltani
Prof. Dr. Carol Baskin
Prof. Dr. José Luis González Andújar
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Seeds is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • dormncy-break
  • endozoochory
  • fire
  • light
  • modeling
  • moisture
  • seed dispersal
  • seed dormancy
  • seed germination
  • temprature

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 1818 KiB  
Article
Comparative Study of Cis- and Trans-Priming Effect of PEG and BABA in Cowpea Seedlings on Exposure to PEG-Induced Osmotic Stress
by K. P. Raj Aswathi, Akhila Sen and Jos T. Puthur
Seeds 2023, 2(1), 85-100; https://doi.org/10.3390/seeds2010007 - 13 Feb 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1581
Abstract
The growth and performance of cowpea seedlings are negatively impacted by climate change and the subsequent occurrence of drought stress. Osmotic stress leads to the formation of reactive oxygen species, causing membrane breakdown, and impairs metabolic activities. The harmful effects of osmotic stress [...] Read more.
The growth and performance of cowpea seedlings are negatively impacted by climate change and the subsequent occurrence of drought stress. Osmotic stress leads to the formation of reactive oxygen species, causing membrane breakdown, and impairs metabolic activities. The harmful effects of osmotic stress can be reduced by using seed priming techniques. Seeds of cowpea var. Anaswara were treated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and β-amino butyric acid (BABA) as priming agents. The seedlings emerged from the primed seeds have been found to reduce the lipid peroxidation rates and improve plant water status by accumulating osmolytes such as proline, total free aminoacids, and total soluble sugars, and also enhanced the production of non-enzymatic antioxidants such as total phenolics, ascorbate, and glutathione, as well as increased the activities of enzymatic antioxidants such as catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase, which effectively scavenge ROS and maintain the homeostasis of the cell. PEG priming (cis-priming) and BABA priming (trans-priming) exhibited differential physiochemical responses in cowpea subjected to PEG stress. The current work investigates the extent of stress tolerance acquired through seed priming, and it will help to make a sensitive variety to a more tolerant one. Physiochemical responses of seedlings emerged from BABA-primed seeds towards PEG stress were better regulated to encounter the PEG-induced osmotic stress than the seedlings emerged from PEG-primed seeds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seed Germination and Environmental Cues)
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15 pages, 2831 KiB  
Article
Pre-Sowing Treatments, Seed Components and Water Imbibition Aids Seed Germination of Gloriosa superba
by Yogesh Ashok Mahajan, Balkrishna Ankush Shinde, Arun Torris, Akshay Baban Gade, Vipul Subhash Patil, C. K. John, Narendra Yeshwant Kadoo and Tukaram Dayaram Nikam
Seeds 2023, 2(1), 15-29; https://doi.org/10.3390/seeds2010002 - 03 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2595
Abstract
Gloriosa superba L. is a horticulturally and medicinally important plant. Its seeds have poor, erratic, and deferred germination. The detailed seed structure components and water imbibition mechanism facilitating the process of seed germination in G. superba remain unexplored. Therefore, it is essential to [...] Read more.
Gloriosa superba L. is a horticulturally and medicinally important plant. Its seeds have poor, erratic, and deferred germination. The detailed seed structure components and water imbibition mechanism facilitating the process of seed germination in G. superba remain unexplored. Therefore, it is essential to develop methods to ensure consistent and enhanced seed germination in G. superba. Various pre-sowing treatments along with the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis and 3D X-ray micro-tomography (micro-T) were employed to elucidate seed structure components, porosity network, and the water imbibition mechanism during germination in G. superba. The study revealed that consistent and significantly improved seed germination (>85%) was observed using the pre-sowing treatment mechanical scarification followed by 24 h water soaking in G. superba. BET and micro-T showed that the tegmen of the seed coat exhibited porosity (21%) with a well-connected porosity network (17.50%) that helped in water movement through hilum, which was confirmed by phosphotungstic acid staining. However, the sarcotesta and endosperm were water-impermeable due to their negligible porosity. Multidisciplinary techniques such as BET and micro-T along with conventional methodologies can be employed to address the seed coat structure, porosity, and water imbibition mechanism aiding seed germination. Mechanical scarification enabled the water to penetrate internal seed layers through the permeable tegmen via the reticulate pore network, which significantly improved seed germination. The developed seed germination method can produce a large number of plants in less time and conserve the natural populations of this high-value medicinally important species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seed Germination and Environmental Cues)
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16 pages, 1645 KiB  
Article
Seed Water Absorption, Germination, Emergence and Seedling Phenotypic Characterization of the Common Bean Landraces Differing in Seed Size and Color
by Monika Vidak, Boris Lazarević, Tomislav Javornik, Zlatko Šatović and Klaudija Carović-Stanko
Seeds 2022, 1(4), 324-339; https://doi.org/10.3390/seeds1040027 - 01 Dec 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6264
Abstract
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most widespread legume in Croatia and its production is based on landraces of great morphological diversity. Landraces morphologically differ the most in the seed coat color and size. Because plant emergence and crop establishment represent [...] Read more.
Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is the most widespread legume in Croatia and its production is based on landraces of great morphological diversity. Landraces morphologically differ the most in the seed coat color and size. Because plant emergence and crop establishment represent the most sensitive stage in crop development, the aim of this study was to determine whether the seed coat color and seed size of Croatian common bean landraces affect the water absorption rate, seed germination, emergence and phenotypic characteristics of the seedlings. In this study seeds of four common bean landraces with different seed color and size, ‘Biser’ (white-colored, small-seeded), ‘Bijeli’ (white-colored, large-seeded), ‘Kornjača’ (dark-colored, small-seeded) and ‘Trešnjevac’ (dark-colored, large-seeded) were evaluated in three different experiments: (i) water uptake, (ii) seed germination and (iii) emergence and seedling phenotypic characterization. The results show that white-colored seeds have a higher absorption rate and release more electrolytes compared to dark-colored seeds of similar size (and weight). The germination results show that white-colored and smaller seeds germinate faster compared to dark-colored and large seeds. On the other hand, the white-colored landrace ‘Bijeli’ took the longest time to emerge, probably due to cell damage that occurred during the fast initial water absorption. Using multispectral imaging, chlorophyll fluorescence imaging and stomatal conductance analysis, the seedlings of the dark-colored and large-seeded landraces were found to contain more photosynthetic pigments and have higher light absorption. In contrast, seedlings of white-colored and large seeds have lower stomatal conductance and transpiration and higher photochemical efficiency (despite possible cell damage during water absorption and germination). Results suggest that dark-colored seeds could survive better under unfavorable soil conditions without absorbing water, swelling, emergence or molding than white-colored seeds. Despite all this, white-colored common bean landraces remain popular in human diets and are often grown on small-scale farms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seed Germination and Environmental Cues)
13 pages, 2509 KiB  
Article
Differential Seed Germination Responses of Tomato Landraces to Temperature under Climate Change Scenarios
by Naeimeh Sousaraei, Benjamin Torabi, Elias Soltani, Kambiz Mashayekhi and Joaquín Medina
Seeds 2022, 1(1), 36-48; https://doi.org/10.3390/seeds1010005 - 07 Mar 2022
Viewed by 3789
Abstract
This study aims to quantify the seed germination response of six tomato landraces to temperature; predict future climate changes relative to the baseline period (1980–2009) for studied locations in the courses of near-term (2010–2039) and mid-term (2040–2069) under two representative concentration pathways (RCP [...] Read more.
This study aims to quantify the seed germination response of six tomato landraces to temperature; predict future climate changes relative to the baseline period (1980–2009) for studied locations in the courses of near-term (2010–2039) and mid-term (2040–2069) under two representative concentration pathways (RCP 4.5 and 8.5); assess the impact of future climate change on the final germination percentage (FGP) and time to reach 50% germination (D50) in the studied landraces. The results show that FGP is zero at 10 °C, reaches the highest value at 15–35 °C, and ceases at 36–40 °C for all landraces. The results also demonstrate that the temperature increment is 0.8–1.3 °C and 1.5–2.7 °C in the near- and mid-term, respectively, under RCP 4.5; further, this increment is 0.9–1.9 °C for the near-term and 2.3–3.4 °C for the mid-term under RCP 8.5. It estimates that the D50 takes 2.5 to 3.8 days among the locations in the baseline course. In the near term, the D50 would be 2.2 to 3.4 days under RCP 4.5 and 2.1 to 3.3 days under RCP 8.5. For the mid-term, the D50 would be projected between 1.9 and 2.9 days under RCP 4.5 and 1.8 to 2.7 days under RCP 8.5. The FGP increases up to 19.5% for Gorgan and 21.3% for Varamin under climatic scenarios relative to baseline, and it will not change in the future climate for other landraces. In conclusion, global warming can result in rapid, uniform, and complete germination in different tomato landraces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seed Germination and Environmental Cues)
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Review

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6 pages, 211 KiB  
Review
An Overview of Environmental Cues That Affect Germination of Nondormant Seeds
by Elias Soltani, Carol C. Baskin and Jose L. Gonzalez-Andujar
Seeds 2022, 1(2), 146-151; https://doi.org/10.3390/seeds1020013 - 17 Jun 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3355
Abstract
For a successful germination and plant growth, seeds must germinate at the right time. Seeds must become nondormant and must fulfill the seed germination requirements. These requirements include light/dark, moisture, temperature, and other environmental cues (e.g., ethylene, exudate from host roots, or chemicals [...] Read more.
For a successful germination and plant growth, seeds must germinate at the right time. Seeds must become nondormant and must fulfill the seed germination requirements. These requirements include light/dark, moisture, temperature, and other environmental cues (e.g., ethylene, exudate from host roots, or chemicals from fire) in the habitat. Seeds come out from dormancy in response to environmental cues, but depending on the species, they may need to be exposed to a second set of environmental cue to germinate. That is, nondormant seeds require specific temperature and water conditions to germination, and sometimes unfavorable temperature and water conditions will cause seeds to enter secondary dormancy. There are still mysteries about how/what environmental cues help seeds detect the right time/conditions for germination after dormancy is broken. Our knowledge of species-specific conditions is incomplete and further studies are needed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seed Germination and Environmental Cues)
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