Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-07T22:32:51.051Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Physical dormancy in Senna multijuga (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae) seeds: the role of seed structures in water uptake

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 May 2014

Ailton G. Rodrigues-Junior*
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Sementes Florestais, Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Caixa Postal 3037, 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brasil
José M.R. Faria
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Sementes Florestais, Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Caixa Postal 3037, 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brasil Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Technológico (CNPq) researcher
Tatiana A.A. Vaz
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Sementes Florestais, Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Caixa Postal 3037, 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brasil
Adriana T. Nakamura
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Anatomia Vegetal, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Caixa Postal 3037, 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brasil
Anderson C. José
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Sementes Florestais, Departamento de Ciências Florestais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Caixa Postal 3037, 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brasil
*
*Correspondence Email: ailtongrodrigues@gmail.com

Abstract

Structural studies in seeds with physical dormancy (PY) are important to better understand its causes and release when subjected to treatments for dormancy breaking. The aims of this study were to (1) characterize the PY break; (2) examine the role of different seed structures in water uptake; and (3) identify the water gap in Senna multijuga seeds. Imbibition patterns of dormant and non-dormant (subjected to dormancy breaking treatments) seeds and the morphological changes during dormancy breaking and germination were evaluated. To identify the water gap, the micropyle and lens were blocked separately, and the water absorption by seed parts was determined. Structural characteristics of the seed coat were also examined. Immersion in water at 80°C was efficient in breaking seed dormancy and imbibition occurred first at the hilar region, through the lens. Water was not absorbed through the micropyle or the extra-hilar region. S. multijuga seeds have a testa with a linearly aligned micropyle, hilum and lens. The seed coat consisted of a cuticle, macrosclereids, one (hilar region) or two (extra-hilar region) layer(s) of osteosclereids and parenchyma cell layers. The lens has typical parenchyma cells underneath it and two fragile regions comprised of shorter macrosclereids. Heat treatment stimulated the lens region, resulting in the opening of fragile regions at the lens, allowing water to enter the seeds. It is concluded that short-term exposure to a hot water treatment is sufficient for the formation of a water gap in S. multijuga seeds, and only the lens acts in the imbibition process.

Type
Research Papers
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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

Aliero, B.L. (2004) Effects of sulphuric acid, mechanical scarification and wet heat treatments on germination of seeds of African locust bean tree, Parkia biglobosa . African Journal of Biotechnology 3, 179181.Google Scholar
Amorim, I.L., Davide, A.C., Ferreira, R.A. and Chaves, M.M.F. (2008) Morfologia de frutos, sementes, plântulas e mudas de Senna multijuga var. lindleyana (Gardner) H.S. Irwin & Barneby – Leguminosae Caesalpinioideae. Revista Brasileira de Botânica 31, 507516.Google Scholar
Baskin, C.C. (2003) Breaking physical dormancy in seeds – focusing on the lens. New Phytologist 158, 229232.Google Scholar
Baskin, C.C. and Baskin, J.M. (1998) Seeds: Ecology, biogeography, and evolution of dormancy and germination. San Diego, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (2004) A classification system for seed dormancy. Seed Science Research 14, 116.Google Scholar
Baskin, J.M., Baskin, C.C. and Li, X. (2000) Taxonomy, anatomy and evolution of physical dormancy in seeds. Plant Species Biology 15, 139152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burrows, G.E., Virgona, J.M. and Heady, R.D. (2009) Effect of boiling water, seed coat structure and provenance on the germination of Acacia melanoxylon seeds. Australian Journal of Botany 57, 139147.Google Scholar
Carvalho, P.E.R. (2004) Pau-cigarra – Senna multijuga. Colombo, Embrapa Florestas.Google Scholar
Dell, B. (1980) Structure and function of the strophiolar plug in seeds of Albizia lophantha . American Journal of Botany 67, 556563.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Paula, A.S., Delgado, C.M.L., Paulilo, M.T.S. and Santos, M. (2012) Breaking physical dormancy of Cassia leptophylla and Senna macranthera (Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae) seeds: water absorption and alternating temperatures. Seed Science Research 22, 259267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Souza, T.V., Voltolini, C.H., Santos, M. and Paulilo, M.T.S. (2012) Water absorption and dormancy-breaking requirements of physically dormant seeds of Schizolobium parahyba (Fabaceae – Caesalpinioideae). Seed Science Research 22, 169176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferreira, R.A., Davide, A.C. and Motta, M.S. (2004) Vigor e viabilidade de sementes de Senna multijuga (Rich.) Irwin et Barn. e Senna macranthera (Collad.) Irwin et Barn., num banco de sementes em solo de viveiro. Revista Brasileira de Sementes 26, 2431.Google Scholar
Gama-Arachchige, N.S., Baskin, J.M., Geneve, R.L. and Baskin, C.C. (2010) Identification and characterization of the water gap in physically dormant seeds of Geraniaceae, with special reference to Geranium carolinianum . Annals of Botany 105, 977990.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gama-Arachchige, N.S., Baskin, J.M., Geneve, R.L. and Baskin, C.C. (2013) Identification and characterization of ten new water gaps in seeds and fruits with physical dormancy and classification of water-gap complexes. Annals of Botany 112, 6984.Google Scholar
Gunn, C.R. (1981) Seeds of Leguminosae. pp. 913915 in Polhill, R.M.; Raven, P.H. (Eds) Advances in legume systematics, part 2. International Legume Conference Proceedings 1978, Kew, England, Richmond, UK, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.Google Scholar
Hanna, P.J. (1984) Anatomical features of the seed coat of Acacia kempeana (Mueller) which relate to increased germination rate induced by heat treatment. New Phytologist 96, 2329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, X.W., Wang, Y.R., Wu, Y.P. and Baskin, C.C. (2009) Role of the lens in controlling water uptake in seeds of two Fabaceae (Papilionoideae) species treated with sulphuric acid and hot water. Seed Science Research 19, 7380.Google Scholar
International Seed Testing Association. (2004) International rules for seed testing. Bassersdorf, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Jayasuriya, K.M.G.G., Baskin, J.M., Geneve, R.L. and Baskin, C.C. (2007) Morphology and anatomy of physical dormancy in Ipomoea lacunosa: identification of the water gap in seeds of Convolvulaceae (Solanales). Annals of Botany 100, 1322.Google Scholar
Jayasuriya, K.M.G.G., Baskin, J.M., Geneve, R.L., Baskin, C.C. and Chien, C.T. (2008) Physical dormancy in seeds of the holoparasitic angiosperm Cuscuta australis (Convolvulaceae, Cuscuteae): dormancy-breaking requirements, anatomy of the water gap and sensitivity cycling. Annals of Botany 102, 3948.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jayasuriya, K.M.G.G., Baskin, J.M., Geneve, R.L. and Baskin, C.C. (2009) A proposed mechanism for physical dormancy break in seeds of Ipomoea lacunosa (Convolvulaceae). Annals of Botany 103, 433445.Google Scholar
Karnovsky, M.J. (1965) A formaldehyde–glutaraldehyde fixative of high osmolarity for use in electron microscopy. Journal of Cell Biology 27, 137138.Google Scholar
Keeley, J.E. and Fotheringham, C.J. (2000) Role of fire in regeneration from seed. pp. 311330 in Fenner, M. (Ed.) Seeds: the ecology of regeneration in plant communities (2nd edition). Wallingford, Oxon, CAB International.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, K.M., Van Staden, J. and Bell, W.E. (1992) Seed coat structure and dormancy. Plant Growth Regulation 11, 201209.Google Scholar
Lacerda, D.R., Lemos Filho, J.P., Goulart, M.F., Ribeiro, R.A. and Lovato, M.B. (2004) Seed-dormancy variation in natural populations of two tropical leguminous tree species: Senna multijuga (Caesalpinioideae) and Plathymenia reticulata (Mimosoideae). Seed Science Research 14, 127135.Google Scholar
Lemos-Filho, J.P., Guerra, S.T.M., Lovato, M. and Scotti, M.R.M.M.L. (1997) Germinação de sementes de Senna macranthera, Senna multijuga e Stryphnodendron polyphyllum . Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira 32, 357361.Google Scholar
Lersten, N.R., Gunn, C.R. and Brubaker, C.L. (1992) Comparative morphology of the lens on legume (Fabaceae) seeds, with emphasis on species in subfamilies Caesalpinioideae and Mimosoideae. US Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin No. 1791. Washington DC, US Department of Agriculture.Google Scholar
Lorenzi, H. (1992) Árvores brasileiras: manual de identificação e cultivo de plantas arbóreas nativas do Brasil. Nova Odessa, Instituto Plantarum.Google Scholar
Maguire, J.D. (1962) Speed of germination – aid in selection and evaluation for seedling emergence and vigor. Crop Science 2, 176177.Google Scholar
Manning, J.C. and Van Staden, J. (1987) The functional differentiation of the testa in seed of Indigofera parviflora (Leguminosae: Papilionoideae). Botanical Gazette 148, 2324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrison, D.A., McClay, K., Porter, C. and Rish, S. (1998) The role of the lens in controlling heat-induced breakdown of testa-imposed dormancy in native Australian legumes. Annals of Botany 82, 3540.Google Scholar
O'Brien, T.P. and McCully, M.E. (1981) The study of plant structure: principles and selected methods. Melbourne, Termarcarphi Pty.Google Scholar
Rangaswamy, N.S. and Nandakumar, L. (1985) Correlative studies on seed coat structure, chemical composition, and impermeability in the legume Rhynchosia minima . Botanical Gazette 146, 501509.Google Scholar
R Development Core Team (2011) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria, R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Available at http://www.R-project.org (accessed accessed 13 April 2013).Google Scholar
Rolston, M.P. (1978) Water impermeable seed dormancy. The Botanical Review 44, 365396.Google Scholar
Serrato-Valenti, G., Cornara, L., Ghisellini, P. and Ferrando, M. (1994) Testa structure and histochemistry related to water uptake in Leucaena leucocephala Lam. (De Wit). Annals of Botany 73, 531537.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Serrato-Valenti, G., De Vries, M. and Cornara, L. (1995) The hilar region in Leucaena leucocephala Lam. (De Wit) seed: structure, histochemistry and the role of the lens in germination. Annals of Botany 75, 569574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, G.B. (1981) Effect of constant temperature treatments followed by fluctuating temperatures on the softening of hard seeds of Trifolium subterraneum L. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 8, 547558.Google Scholar
Turner, S.R., Cook, A., Baskin, J.M., Baskin, C.C., Tuckett, R.E., Steadman, K.J. and Dixon, K.W. (2009) Identification and characterization of the water gap in the physically dormant seeds of Dodonaea petiolaris: a first report for Sapindaceae. Annals of Botany 104, 833844.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Assche, J.A., Debucquoy, K.L.A. and Rommens, W.A.F. (2003) Seasonal cycles in the germination capacity of buried seeds of some Leguminosae (Fabaceae). New Phytologist 158, 315323.Google Scholar
Vari, A.K., Jethani, I., Sharma, S.P., Khanna, M. and Barnwal, S. (2007) Seed coat imposed dormancy in Sesbania spp. and treatments to improve germination. Seed Science and Technology 35, 318325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vázquez-Yanes, C. and Orozco-Segovia, A. (1982) Seed germination of a tropical rain forest pioneer tree (Heliocarpus donnell-smithii) in response to diurnal fluctuation of temperature. Physiologia Plantarum 56, 295298.Google Scholar
Venier, P., Funes, G. and García, C.C. (2012) Physical dormancy and histological features of seeds of five Acacia species (Fabaceae) from xerophytic forests in central Argentina. Flora 207, 3946.Google Scholar
Werker, E. (1997) Seed anatomy. Berlin, Borntraeger.Google Scholar