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Free radical activity and loss of viability during drying of desiccation-sensitive tree seeds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

W. E. Finch-Savage
Affiliation:
Horticultural Research International, Wellesbourne, Warwick CV35 9EF, UK
G. A. F. Hendry
Affiliation:
NERC Unit of Comparative Plant Ecology, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
N. M. Atherton
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry, The University, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
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Synopsis

Viability loss during desiccation in the recalcitrant seeds of Castanea saliva, Aesculus hippocastanum and Quercus robur was accompanied by increased lipid peroxidation and build up of a stable free radical within their embryonic axes. We argue that the accumulation of the free radical marks the termination of a series of destructive events following the initiation of oxidative attack during moisture stress in recalcitrant seeds.

Type
Short Communications
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1994

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References

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