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Fire-related cues and the germination of eight Conostylis (Haemodoraceae) taxa, when freshly collected, after burial and after laboratory storage

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2015

Katherine S. Downes ,
Marnie E. Light ,
Martin Pošta  and
Johannes van Staden
Katherine S. Downes*
Affiliation:
Department of Environment and Agriculture, Curtin University, PO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
Marnie E. Light
Affiliation:
Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa
Martin Pošta
Affiliation:
Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry AS CR, v.v.i., Flemingovo nám. 2., 166 10, Prague 6, Czech Republic
Johannes van Staden
Affiliation:
Research Centre for Plant Growth and Development, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal Pietermaritzburg, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa
*
*Correspondence E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The genus Conostylis (Haemodoraceae) is endemic to fire-prone south-western Australia. To gain an understanding of the effect of some fire-related germination cues, eight Conostylis taxa were tested in response to water, nitrate, smoke water and karrikinolide (KAR1) under light and dark conditions, when seeds were freshly collected and after a year of burial. The germination of all taxa tested was higher in response to smoke water and KAR1 than in water alone, whereas nitrate did not stimulate germination. Germination was higher in all taxa following 1 year of burial than in fresh seeds. Recently, glyceronitrile has been identified as another chemical in smoke water, apart from KAR1, that can stimulate the germination of certain species. The relative response of eight Conostylis taxa to KAR1, glyceronitrile and smoke water was examined in laboratory-stored seeds. Germination of these taxa was promoted by both smoke water and KAR1, except for C. neocymosa, which had high germination regardless of treatment. Four of the other seven taxa germinated to higher levels in at least one of the glyceronitrile concentrations tested (10, 50 or 100 μM) than in water alone. However, in only two of these taxa, C. aculeata subsp. septentrionora and C. juncea, was germination in glyceronitrile as high as that in smoke water. Thus, the response to glyceronitrile is not uniform across Conostylis taxa. Generally, germination was higher with KAR1 than glyceronitrile, suggesting that although some Conostylis taxa have the capacity to respond to glyceronitrile, KAR1 is the more important germination stimulant for this genus.

Keywords

ConostylisgerminationglyceronitrileHaemodoraceaekarrikinolideseed dormancysmoke water
Type
Research Papers
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , September 2015 , pp. 286 - 298
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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