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Quantifying the oxygen sensitivity of seed germination using a population-based threshold model

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2007

Kent J. Bradford ,
Daniel Côme  and
Françoise Corbineau
Kent J. Bradford*
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Sciences, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, CA 95616-8780, USA
Daniel Côme
Affiliation:
Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, Physiologie Végétale Appliquée, EA 2388 Physiologie des semences, Site d'Ivry, Boîte 152, 4 Place Jussieu, F-75252 Paris, cedex 05, France
Françoise Corbineau
Affiliation:
Université Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris 6, Physiologie Végétale Appliquée, EA 2388 Physiologie des semences, Site d'Ivry, Boîte 152, 4 Place Jussieu, F-75252 Paris, cedex 05, France
*
Email: kjbradford@ucdavis.edu
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Abstract

Seeds vary widely in the sensitivity of germination to oxygen (O2) partial pressure, depending upon the species, temperature, dormancy state and physiological status of the seeds. Most analyses of the O2 sensitivity of germination have focused on final germination percentages and estimated the O2 percentage in air that is required to reduce germination to a given percentage (usually 50%). In contrast, we have applied a population-based threshold model utilizing time courses of germination to quantify three parameters related to seed germination sensitivity to O2 availability: the median base (or threshold) O2 percentage, the standard deviation of O2 thresholds among seeds in the population, and an oxygen–time constant that relates O2 percentage to germination timing. The model fits germination responses accurately across a wide range of O2 concentrations. The response to O2 was logarithmic in all cases, with the O2 percentage required for 50% germination ranging from 21% to as low as 0.005%, depending upon the species, the temperature and the seed dormancy level. Modelling indicated that some seeds can adapt to low O2 percentages and shift their thresholds to lower values over time. Lower temperatures decreased the minimum O2 threshold, as did after-ripening. Seed priming generally reduced the oxygen–time constant and increased the standard deviation of germination responses, but had relatively little effect on the O2 sensitivity per se. The population-based threshold model can be used to quantify the O2 sensitivity of seed germination and to predict germination rates and percentages when O2 availability is limiting.

Type
Research Article
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , March 2007 , pp. 33 - 43
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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