Seed storage at elevated partial pressure of oxygen, a fast method for analysing seed ageing under dry conditions |
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Authors: | S P C Groot A A Surki R C H de Vos J Kodde |
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Institution: | 1Plant Research International, Wageningen University and Research centre, PO Box 619, 6700 AP Wageningen, The Netherlands;2Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, University of Tehran, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran;3Centre for BioSystems and Genomics, P.O. Box 98, 6700 AB, Wageningen, The Netherlands |
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Abstract: | Background and AimsDespite differences in physiology between dry and relative moist seeds, seed ageing tests most often use a temperature and seed moisture level that are higher than during dry storage used in commercial practice and gene banks. This study aimed to test whether seed ageing under dry conditions can be accelerated by storing under high-pressure oxygen.MethodsDry barley (Hordeum vulgare), cabbage (Brassica oleracea), lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and soybean (Glycine max) seeds were stored between 2 and 7 weeks in steel tanks under 18 MPa partial pressure of oxygen. Storage under high-pressure nitrogen gas or under ambient air pressure served as controls. The method was compared with storage at 45 °C after equilibration at 85 % relative humidity and long-term storage at the laboratory bench. Germination behaviour, seedling morphology and tocopherol levels were assessed.Key ResultsThe ageing of the dry seeds was indeed accelerated by storing under high-pressure oxygen. The morphological ageing symptoms of the stored seeds resembled those observed after ageing under long-term dry storage conditions. Barley appeared more tolerant of this storage treatment compared with lettuce and soybean. Less-mature harvested cabbage seeds were more sensitive, as was the case for primed compared with non-primed lettuce seeds. Under high-pressure oxygen storage the tocopherol levels of dry seeds decreased, in a linear way with the decline in seed germination, but remained unchanged in seeds deteriorated during storage at 45 °C after equilibration at 85 % RH.ConclusionsSeed storage under high-pressure oxygen offers a novel and relatively fast method to study the physiology and biochemistry of seed ageing at different seed moisture levels and temperatures, including those that are representative of the dry storage conditions as used in gene banks and commercial practice. |
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Keywords: | Oxidative stress seed ageing seed longevity seed quality seed storage seed test tocopherol |
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