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Annual rhythm of germination of seeds of Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum 32 years after collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2007

Yitzchak Gutterman  and
Tanya Gendler
Yitzchak Gutterman*
Affiliation:
Unit for Ecophysiology and Introduction of Desert Plants, Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boker Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 84990, Israel
Tanya Gendler
Affiliation:
Unit for Ecophysiology and Introduction of Desert Plants, Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boker Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 84990, Israel
*
*Correspondence Fax: +972 8659 6757, Email: gutterma@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
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Abstract

Dry plants of Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum L. (Aizoaceae), with mature seeds enclosed in their dry capsules, were collected in the Judean Desert near Jericho, Israel, in the summer of 1972, and have been stored dry under room conditions [15–30°C, 15–25% relative humidity (RH)] since then. More than 31 years after maturation, these unimbibed seeds retained an annual rhythm of germination. A significantly higher percentage of seeds originating from the terminal, central and basal parts of the capsules germinated in February or March compared to other months of the year. This phenomenon was repeated in all three groups of seeds in 2001, 2002 and 2003 for germination in darkness at 15°C, and in terminal seeds germinated at 25°C in darkness for 4 years from 2001 to 2004. The annual rhythm of M. nodiflorum germination may regulate the season and percentage of seeds that germinate at the proper time of the year, even after many years. But the open question still remains: how do dry seeds measure time, and what are the mechanisms involved?

Keywords

annual rhythmdormancy cyclingMesembryanthemum nodiflorumseed storage
Type
Short Communication
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , September 2005 , pp. 249 - 253
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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