This work presents the results of physiological studies developed to understand modifications linked to the reduction of seed dormancy provoked by domestication processes. The experiments performed compared wild and domesticated Cucurbita subspecies and their hybrids developed by reciprocal crossings. Seeds of two accessions of the wild subspecies presented dormancy, but it was largely reduced in seeds from the domesticated genotype, and partially reverted in hybrids, especially in those obtained when the domesticated genotype was used as the mother plant. In addition, naked embryos of all subspecies did not display dormancy when incubation was performed at 28°C, but embryo germination was progressively reduced only in the wild genotype under decreasing incubation temperatures (22 and 16°C). In the embryos, abscisic acid (ABA) concentrations were similar in both domesticated and wild subspecies, whereas in the seed coat, it was threefold higher in the wild subspecies. The naked embryos from the wild subspecies were far more responsive to ABA than those from the domesticated subspecies. These results indicate that dormancy in the wild subspecies is imposed by the seed coat tissues and that this effect is mediated by their high ABA content and the sensitivity of the embryos to ABA. These physiological aspects were apparently removed by domestication along with the temperature-dependent response for germination.

Differences in fruit morphology among or within species might indicate differences in other regenerative traits, such as seed dormancy and germination. In species with physical dormancy (PY), environmental conditions are suggested to be responsible for dormancy break in field. Seeds of Vachellia caven have PY. This species exhibits two fruit morphs highly represented in Córdoba forests, Argentina: one is dehiscent and the other is indehiscent. In this study we performed a burial experiment with the aim to determine if the differences in V. caven fruit morphology were related to different patterns of PY break of their seeds in field conditions. We related these patterns to (1) environmental conditions that could influence the loss of PY, and (2) histological features of the lens zone. Seeds of both morphs exhibited dormancy break within 14 months of the start of the experiment, but with different patterns. The dehiscent morph showed an abrupt percentage of seeds that broke dormancy 14 months after the beginning of the experiment, probably after undergoing environmental changes similar to those suggested by the two-stage softening model. The indehiscent morph showed a gradual increase in seeds that broke dormancy, not clearly related to any of the environmental variables studied. No differences in seed coat structure of the lens zone were observed between morphs. The existence of both morphs could confer the species with higher possibilities of establishing and coping with environmental heterogeneity. Those characteristics contribute to the understanding of the success of this species in open and disturbed environments.

Interchangeable effects of temperature, moisture content and oxygen on seed longevity have been mostly examined to estimate seed viability during long-term dry storage, whereas few experiments have studied seed viability under near-natural conditions to evaluate seed persistence in the soil. To this end, we artificially aged seeds of Ranunculus baudotii, a hydrophyte widely distributed in temporary ponds constituting an abundant soil seed bank. Seeds were exposed to controlled ageing at three different relative humidities (RH) under both aerobic and anoxic conditions. Their viability, water content, membrane damage, oxidative stress and anti-oxidant enzymatic defence activity were evaluated. Seed survival was longer at higher relative humidity (97% RH), and lowest at a relative humidity (90% RH) simulating moist but not waterlogged soils. Anoxic conditions showed a protective role on viability at lower moisture contents (70% RH). Seed viability was negatively associated with hydrogen peroxide content and correlated with anti-oxidant enzyme activities, but not with membrane damage. Altogether, these results suggest negative roles for moist soils and anoxia in determining seed persistence in the field, but at higher moisture contents the negative effects of anaerobia diminished. The anti-oxidant system activation, even under unfavourable conditions, might recover seeds once all protective processes can operate, pointing out the plasticity of mechanisms involved in seed loss viability.

Abies cephalonica cone and seed morphometric characteristics as well as seed germination behaviour were investigated during an 8-year-long diachronic study (2007–2015). The research was carried out in Parnitha National Park, in the part of this Greek endemic, silver fir population that was spared from an unprecedented wildfire (2007). A statistically significant interannual and among-tree variation of cone traits has been identified, except for cone diameter. Cone length is correlated to the number of seeds per cone, while the percentage of empty seeds has been consistently high, with extreme values of 29.3 and 81.8% in a masting (2015) and lean crop (2009) year, respectively. There is also a considerable proportion of dead (including infected) and non-germinated seeds, and the eventual germinable fraction is well below 25% with spikes in masting years (39.4 and 60.9% in 2010 and 2015, respectively). Untreated seeds have been tested at a wide range of constant and alternating temperatures and germination is completed within 4–5 weeks at T ≥ 15°C and ca 15 weeks at 5–10°C. A chilling pretreatment of 4–8 weeks (at 2–4°C) concludes germination at 15–20°C within 2 weeks. A significant white light requirement has been observed for untreated seeds at 15–20°C, while germination was light indifferent at lower or higher temperatures. Data obtained in this study confirm the present, field seed germination during springtime; we may also predict an earlier germination (late autumn to mid-winter) in forest gaps, under the predicted, warmer conditions in the future.

Raphanus raphanistrum (wild radish) is a highly competitive weed in winter crops. Integrated weed management practices and decision-making tools benefit from the ability to predict seed longevity and dormancy status in the soil seed bank, as well as time and density of emergence in the field. We wondered if unique values taken from databases could serve for modelling purposes, whatever the origins of the weed populations. We investigated dormancy and longevity of fruits buried in the soil over a four-year seed burial experiment of two highly contrasted populations that differ by their biogeographical origin (oceanic versus continental climate), their habitat (arable field versus undisturbed) and their fruit size (thick versus thin fruit wall). High viability persisted over two years, followed by a rapid reduction, especially for the ‘continental-undisturbed-thin’ population. Dormancy cycling, with dormancy at its lowest in October, was observed for the ‘oceanic-arable-thick’ population, whilst a slow decrease without clear seasonal pattern was found for the other population. These results indicate different ways of regulating seed persistence in the soil, which might be taken into account when building demographic models. These differences could be due to interactions between fruit wall thickness and the other factors; it is possible that a thicker fruit wall increases longevity by promoting dormancy by physical restriction, but depending on temperature. Thinner fruit walls would make plants display other adaptive strategies to maximize survival time in the soil seed bank. Studies involving more populations and isogenic material are needed to address this specific question.

Members of the orchid family occupy many germination niches, in terrestrial, epiphytic and epilithic environments. How orchid seeds attach to their substrate and survive after dispersal is largely unknown. C-lignin is a recently discovered specialized lignin, found in seed coats of some plants, including orchid species, but its functional and biological significance is obscure. We studied seed coat ontogenesis in three species (Neuwiedia veratrifolia, Cypripedium formosanum and Phalaenopsis aphrodite) that represent basal and advanced branches in orchid phylogeny and divergent life forms. From each species, controlled pollination yielded several stages of seed development, from which seed coats (testa) were isolated and analysed by ATR-FT-IR spectroscopy. The use of the ATR set-up ensured that the chemical information originated only from the integral outer seed surface layers. The FT-IR bands of C-lignin are presented here for the first time, and distinguished from bands of G/S-lignin. In the seed coats, C-lignin developed after G/S-lignin in N. veratrifolia and C. formosanum, while only G/S-lignin developed in P. aphrodite. We discuss C-lignin properties and possible function in relation to seed coat properties. The species differed with respect to sequence and amounts of deposition, not only of lignins but also lipids, resulting in differences in mature seed coat compositions. Thus we revealed an unexpected and marked diversity among orchids with respect to seed surface chemistry, with possible implications for seed and germination ecology.

Ferula ovina is a perennial Apiaceae with great medicinal and economic value. This study was conducted to better understand the dormancy and germination behaviour of its seeds. Experiments included temperature requirements for both embryo growth and germination under field and laboratory conditions, the effects of warm stratification, gibberellic acid (GA3), dry after-ripening, exogenous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) on dormancy, localizing the accumulation of superoxide (O2−) and measuring endogenous contents of H2O2 in embryos during cold and warm stratification. Embryos were under-developed and did not germinate within one month at temperatures higher than 10°C. Among all treatments, cold stratification and exogenous H2O2 could break dormancy. However, the application of DPI reduced growth and the germination of the embryo at 3°C. During cold stratification, the embryonic axes elongated more than the cotyledons, which coincided with earlier production of O2− in the axes. Only these embryos could eventually complete growth and germinate. Moreover, such asymmetric growth between the axes and cotyledons was also observed when seeds were treated with exogenous H2O2. On the other hand, both axes and cotyledons displayed the same growth over treatments with warm stratification and DPI. Overall, seeds of F. ovina exhibit the characteristics of deep complex morphophysiological dormancy. Moreover, the embryos solely require cold to complete growth and to germinate, and this process seems to be mediated by reactive oxygen species. Under natural conditions, seeds germinate during winter in cold soil, and shoots emerge in spring.

Priming has proved to enhance seed germination, but most of the research dealing with this topic has been carried out with cultivated species. The potential applications that this process has on wild species, which can be useful for restoration, are usually overlooked. This study analyses the germination response after natural priming and hydropriming of Penstemon roseus and Castilleja tenuiflora, two perennial herbs growing in a protected area known as ‘Parque Ecológico de la Ciudad de México’. Photoblastism was evaluated for both species. Seeds were exposed to a hydration/dehydration cycle and then placed in germination chambers to determine responses to hydropriming. To identify the effects of natural priming, seeds were buried in natural conditions and then recovered every two months and placed in germination chambers. Germination percentages and rates were then quantified. Both species proved to have permeable seed coats. Penstemon roseus seeds are positive photoblastic whereas C. tenuiflora seeds are indifferent to light. Priming methods increased C. tenuiflora germination rates, but they did not affect germination capacity. For P. roseus, priming methods did not improve germination rates, and germination capacity of recovered seeds decreased after the rainy season, suggesting that P. roseus forms a short-term, transient, seed bank. The germination strategies of these two species allow them to occupy suitable microsites for germination and establishment. These responses can be helpful in developing restoration programmes based on the accelerated establishment of native and characteristic successional species.

The resilience of seed quality in rice (Oryza sativa L.) to flooding was investigated. Pot-grown plants of the japonica cv. Gleva, the indica cv. IR64, and the introgressed line IR64-Sub1 were submerged in water, to simulate flooding, for 3‒5 days at different stages of seed development and maturation. Mean seed weight, pre-harvest sprouting, ability to germinate, and subsequent longevity in air-dry storage were assessed. Whereas seed quality in both IR64 and IR64-Sub1 was resilient to submergence, in Gleva the longer the duration of submergence and the later in development when plants were submerged the greater the pre-harvest sprouting. Thousand seed dry weight was reduced more by submergence in Gleva than IR64 or IR64-Sub1. At harvest maturity, few pre-harvest sprouted seeds were able to germinate upon rehydration after desiccation to 11‒12% moisture content. Seed longevity of the non-sprouted seed fraction in air-dry hermetic storage (40°C, 15% moisture content) was not affected greatly by submergence, but longevity of the japonica rice was less than that of the indica rices due to the former's steeper seed survival curves. Longevity of the two indica rices was predicted well by the seed viability equation and previously published estimates of viability constants for rice. The greater dormancy of IR64 and IR64-Sub1, compared with Gleva, enhanced resilience to pre-harvest sprouting and reduced thousand seed dry weight from plant submergence. There was little or no effect of plant submergence on subsequent air-dry storage longevity of non-sprouted seeds in any genotype.

Germination studies at the community level are crucial for understanding and predicting changes in species distribution patterns, particularly in endangered plant communities. We investigated the effects of dry (11–25% relative humidity) and freezing (–18°C) storage conditions, phylogeny and plant life-history traits (life-form, life-span, microhabitat and seed dispersal mode) on seed germination percentage (GP) and time to reach 50% germination (T50) of 53 species native to pine rocklands in South Florida, USA, a globally critically imperiled ecosystem. Most species we studied (68%) withstood dry and freezing storage conditions and thus ex situ seed banking can assist their long-term conservation. Bayesian mixed effect models revealed that there was a significant phylogenetic signal in GP and T50 across species. Life-history covariates did not explain significant additional variation in GP in models controlling for the phylogenetic relationships among species. T50 differed among species with contrasting dispersal modes, with animal-dispersed seeds exhibiting more delayed germination than wind-dispersed or unassisted seeds. Differential germination responses across species with different seed dispersal modes have implications for potential shifts in species composition under disturbance and climate change. Thus, knowledge of species-relatedness and some life-history traits such as seed dispersal mode can significantly assist management decisions regarding seed storage and conservation of subtropical endangered plants.

Timing of seedling emergence is a critical aspect of a plant's life cycle, and it may influence the expression of other plant life history traits. However, most studies have been conducted at the population level, and thus little is known about timing of seedling emergence at the community level. In the field, we determined the peak emergence season for seedlings of 144 species collected from a subalpine meadow on the eastern Tibet Plateau in China. The proportion of species with seedlings emerging in autumn, spring and summer, seedling field emergence percentage (FE) and mean emergence time (MET) were analysed in relation to seed mass, life cycle type (annual/biennial and perennial) and phylogeny. The results showed that (1) the proportion of species with seedlings emerging in autumn (33%), spring (44%) and summer (23%) differed significantly; (2) overall, species with seedlings emerging in autumn had higher FE than those emerging during spring/summer; (3) there was a positive relationship between log-seed mass and log-MET, but log-seed mass had no significant effect on log-FE; (4) life cycle type did not affect seedling emergence; and (5) phylogeny significantly explained peak emergence season. These results suggest that seed mass and phylogenetic position are the main determinants of seedling emergence season. However, seedling peak emergence season affected FE, growing season length and resource utilization, and thus may be related to the importance of a species in the community.