Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T10:38:42.379Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Breaking dormancy of Stylosanthes humilis seeds with selenium compounds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2008

Frank James Araújo Pinheiro
Affiliation:
Depto. de Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa 36570-000, MG, Brazil
Raimundo Santos Barros*
Affiliation:
Depto. de Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa 36570-000, MG, Brazil
Tales Graciano Coelho
Affiliation:
Depto. de Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa 36570-000, MG, Brazil
Braulio Maia de Lana Souza
Affiliation:
Depto. de Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa 36570-000, MG, Brazil
*
*Correspondence Fax: +55 31 3899 2580 Email: rsbarros@ufv.br

Abstract

The soluble selenium (Se) compounds selenic acid, selenious acid, selenium dioxide, selenium tetrachloride, selenomethionine, selenourea, sodium selenate and sodium selenite broke the dormancy of scarified seeds of Townsville stylo (Stylosanthes humilis HBK). Given the chemical diversity of all these molecules, it could be deduced that Se may act as a dormancy-breaking agent of Townsville stylo seeds. Se-stimulated seeds produced great amounts of both ethylene and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, which correlated with the process of germination. As specific inhibitors of ethylene biosynthesis and action largely depressed this Se-stimulated germination, it was concluded that Se broke dormancy by triggering ethylene production by the seeds.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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

Babiker, A.G.T., Cai, T., Ejeta, G., Butler, L.G. and Woodson, W.R. (1994) Enhancement of ethylene biosynthesis and germination with thidiazuron and some selected auxins in Striga asiatica seeds. Physiologia Plantarum 91, 529536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ballard, L.A.T. and Buchwald, T. (1971) A viability test for seeds of Townsville stylo using thiourea. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry 11, 207210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barros, R.S. and Freitas, A.W.D. (2000) Stimulation of germination of dormant seeds of Townsville stylo by selenomethionine. Seed Science and Technology 28, 241247.Google Scholar
Barros, R.S. and Freitas, A.W.D. (2001) Selenomethionine as a dormancy-breaking agent in seeds of Stylosanthes humilis. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum 23, 279284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallardo, M., De Rueda, P.M., Matilla, A.J. and Sánchez-Calle, I.M. (1994) The relationships between ethylene production and germination of Cicer arietinum seeds. Biologia Plantarum 36, 201207.Google Scholar
Konze, J.R. and Kende, H. (1979) Interactions of methionine and selenomethionine with methionine adenosyltransferase and ethylene-generating systems. Plant Physiology 63, 507510.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Konze, J.R., Schilling, N. and Kende, H. (1978) Enhancement of ethylene formation by selenoamino-acids. Plant Physiology 62, 397401.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Läuchli, A. (1993) Selenium in plants: uptake, functions, and environmental toxicity. Botanica Acta 106, 455468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lizada, M.C.C. and Yang, S.F. (1979) A simple and sensitive assay for 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid. Analytical Biochemistry 100, 140145.Google ScholarPubMed
Mattoo, A.K., Baker, J.E. and Moline, H.E. (1986) Induction by copper ions of ethylene production in Spirodela oligorrhiza: Evidence for a pathway independent of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid. Journal of Plant Physiology 123, 193202.Google Scholar
Mattoo, A.K., Mehta, R.A. and Baker, J.E. (1992) Copper-induced ethylene biosynthesis in terrestrial (Nicotiana tabacum) and aquatic (Spirodela oligorrhiza) higher plants. Phytochemistry 31, 405409.Google Scholar
Merck & Co. (1989) Merck Index (11th edition). Rahway, New Jersey, Merck & Co.Google Scholar
Pech, J-C., Latché, A. and Bouzayen, M. (2004) Ethylene biosynthesis. pp. 115136in Davies, P.J. (Ed.) Plant hormones: Biosynthesis, signal transduction, action (2nd edition). Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic.Google Scholar
Reid, M.S., Paul, J.L., Farhoomand, M.B., Kofranek, A.M. and Staby, G.L. (1980) Pulse treatments with the silver thiosulfate complex extend the vase life of cut carnations. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 105, 2527.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ribeiro, D.M. and Barros, R.S. (2004) A technique devised for detecting the ethylene requirement for germination as illustrated with Stylosanthes humilis seeds. Seed Science and Technology 32, 863866.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ribeiro, D.M. and Barros, R.S. (2006) Sensitivity to ethylene as a major component in the germination of seeds of Stylosanthes humilis. Seed Science Research 16, 3745.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saltveit, M.E. and Yang, S.F. (1987) Ethylene. pp. 367396in Rivier, L.; Crozier, A. (Eds) Principles and practice of plant hormone analysis, Vol. 2. London, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Scott, A.J. and Knott, M. (1974) A cluster analysis method for grouping means in the analysis of variance. Biometrics 30, 507512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Terry, N., Zayed, A.M., de Souza, M.P. and Tarun, A.S. (2000) Selenium in higher plants. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology 51, 401432.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vieira, H.D. and Barros, R.S. (1994) Responses of seed of Stylosanthes humilis to germination regulators. Physiologia Plantarum 92, 1720.CrossRefGoogle Scholar