Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T11:17:42.307Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Accumulation of sugars during the onset and development of desiccation tolerance in immature seeds of Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) stored moist

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2007

T.D. Hong
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The University of Reading, Earley Gate, PO Box 236, Reading, RG6 6AT, UK
A. Gedebo
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The University of Reading, Earley Gate, PO Box 236, Reading, RG6 6AT, UK
R.H. Ellis*
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The University of Reading, Earley Gate, PO Box 236, Reading, RG6 6AT, UK
*
*Correspondence Fax: 0118 9318297 Email: [email protected]

Abstract

The viability of Norway maple seeds collected 21 d before mass maturity (68%moisture content, wet basis) and at mass maturity (56% moisture content) was reduced from 52–85% to 0–7% if dried rapidly (at 10–12% r.h. and 15–17°C for 3 d, then 3 d over silica gel) to 4–5% moisture content. Moist storage of the fruits at 15°C improved the ability of the seeds to tolerate rapid desiccation considerably: 10 and 21 d of moist storage enabled seeds collected at mass maturity or 21 d earlier, respectively, to attain maximum desiccation tolerance to 4–5% moisture content. Moist storage and/or subsequent desiccation affected stachyose, sucrose, and to a lesser extent raffinose, concentrations. The oligosaccharide:total sugar ratio showed a similar pattern in relation to ability to germinate after desiccation to 4–5% moisture content among seeds collected on both dates: desiccation tolerance developed from nil to maximal in these seed populations between threshold oligosaccharide:total sugar values of just less than 0.3 and about 0.4.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2000

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

Black, M., Corbineau, F., Gee, H. and Côme, D. (1999) Water content, raffinose, and dehydrins in the induction of desiccation tolerance in immature wheat embryos. Plant Physiology 120, 463471.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crowe, J.H., Crowe, L.M. and Chapman, D. (1984) Preservation of membranes in anhydrobiotic organisms: the role of trehalose. Science 223, 701703.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crowe, J.H., Hoekstra, F.A. and Crowe, L.M. (1992) Anhydrobiosis. Annual Review of Physiology 54, 579599.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellis, R.H. and Pieta Filho, C. (1992) The development of seed quality in spring and winter cultivars of barley and wheat. Seed Science Research 2, 915.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galau, G.A., Jakobsen, K.S. and Hughes, D.W. (1991) The control of late dicot embryogenesis and early germination. Physiologia Plantarum 81, 280288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoekstra, F.A., Haigh, A.M., Tetteroo, F.A.A. and van Roekel, T. (1994) Changes in soluble sugars in relation to desiccation tolerance in cauliflower seeds. Seed Science Research 4, 143147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hong, T.D. and Ellis, R.H. (1990) A comparison of maturation drying, germination, and desiccation tolerance between developing seeds of Acer pseudoplatanus L. and Acer platanoides L. New Phytologist 116, 589596.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hong, T.D. and Ellis, R.H. (1992) Development of desiccation tolerance in Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) seeds during maturation drying. Seed Science Research 2, 169172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hong, T.D. and Ellis, R.H. (1997) The effect of the initial rate of drying on the subsequent ability of immature seeds of Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) to survive rapid desiccation. Seed Science Research 7, 4145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horbowicz, M. and Obendorf, R.L. (1994) Seed desiccation tolerance and storability: Dependence on flatulence-producing oligosaccharides and cyclitols - review and survey. Seed Science Research 4, 385405.Google Scholar
International Seed Testing Association (1996a) International rules for seed testing. Rules 1996. Seed Science and Technology 24 Supplement, 186.Google Scholar
International Seed Testing Association (1996b) International rules for seed testing. Annexes 1996. Seed Science and Technology 24 Supplement, 93334.Google Scholar
Koster, K.L. and Leopold, A.C. (1988) Sugars and desiccation tolerance in seeds. Plant Physiology 88, 829832.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leopold, A.C. (1990) Coping with desiccation. pp 5786in Alscher, R.G.; Cumming, J.R. (Eds) Stress responses in plants: adaptation and acclimation mechanisms. New York, Wiley-Liss, Inc.Google Scholar
Leprince, O., Bronchart, R. and Deltour, R. (1990) Changes in starch and soluble sugars in relation to the acquisition of desiccation tolerance during maturation of Brassica campestris seed. Plant, Cell and Environment 13, 539546.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lima, M.D.V. Jr., Ellis, R.H., Hong, T.D. and Ferraz, I.D.K. (1998) Drying method and subsequent desiccation tolerance and longevity of immature seeds of cedro (Cedrela odorata L. - Meliaceae). Seed Science and Technology 26, 813821.Google Scholar
Pukacka, S. and Pukacki, P.M. (1997) Changes in soluble sugars in relation to desiccation tolerance and effects of dehydration on freezing characteristics of Acer platanoides and Acer pseudoplatanus seeds. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum 19, 147154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sinniah, U.R., Ellis, R.H. and John, P. (1998) Irrigation and seed quality development in rapid-cycling brassica: soluble carbohydrates and heat-stable proteins. Annals of Botany 82, 647655.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strauss, G. and Hauser, H. (1986) Stabilization of small unilamellar phospholipid vesicles by sucrose during freezing and dehydration. pp 318326in Leopold, A.C. (Ed) Membranes, metabolism and dry organisms. Ithaca, Cornell University Press.Google Scholar