Plant Diversity ›› 2010, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (05): 448-454.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1143.2010.10049

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The Characteristics of Low Temperature Tolerance during Seed Germination of the Ephemeral  Plant Lepidium apetalum (Cruciferae)

 ZHAO  Hui-Xin-1、2, LI  Qun-1, ZHOU  Jing-1, LI  Guan-1   

  1. 1College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, China;
    2College of Life Science, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi 830053, China
  • Received:2010-03-06 Online:2010-10-25 Published:2010-06-01

Abstract:

Lepidium apetalum was used to explore the characteristics and mechanismes of low temperature tolerance during seed germination. The results showed that pretreatment the seeds at 4℃ would improve the seeds viability after stressed by low temperature at -5℃ and -10℃ and the capability of seeds tolerance to cold temperature became weaker along with germination development. Although the growth of radicle was inhibited significantly at 4℃ during germination, the seeds could still survive and grow. With appropriate time of stratified at 4℃, germination pace would be improved and germination rate would not change, while both of which decreased if stratification lasted too long. Moreover, Lapetalum seeds were very sensible to the temperature during germination. It showed no germination at 4℃, while if seeds were stratificated for 48 hours at 4℃ and subsequently treated with 25℃ for more than 6 hours, seeds would germinate at 4℃ and the germination rate increased with the time of 25℃ treatment prolonged. If treatment at 25℃ was less than 5 houes, it showed no germinating.  In addition, seeds with stratification for 10 days following 1 h treatment at 25℃ could also germinated at 4℃. The present study indicated that some pivotal genes that related with a key physiological stage before the onset of radicle protrusion might inhibite at 4℃, which resulted in Lapetalum seed could not germinate at 4℃. Except that physiological stage, the Lapetalum seed had a strong tolerance to low temperature at other germination stages. This experiment provided a new way to explore the germination mechanism of ephemerals plants seeds at low temperature.

Key words: Lepidium apetalum, Germination process, Lowtemperature, Tolerance

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