Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-p566r Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T12:28:33.527Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Is ‘NO’ news good news? Nitrogen oxides are not components of smoke that elicits germination in two smoke-stimulated species, Nicotiana attenuata and Emmenanthe penduliflora

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2007

Catherine A. Preston*
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 8, Jena, 07745, Germany State University of New York at Buffalo, Department of Biological Sciences, 109 Cooke Hall/ North Campus, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA
Romy Becker
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 8, Jena, 07745, Germany
Ian T. Baldwin*
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 8, Jena, 07745, Germany State University of New York at Buffalo, Department of Biological Sciences, 109 Cooke Hall/ North Campus, Buffalo, NY, 14260, USA
*
Current address: USDA-ARS CMAVE, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA
*Correspondence Fax: +49 03641 571102 Email: baldwin@ice.mpg.de

Abstract

Both the California chaparral species, Emmenanthe penduliflora Benth. (Hydrophyllaceae), and a tobacco native to the Great Basin Desert of south-western Utah, Nicotiana attenuata Torr. ex Wats. (Solanaceae), germinate in response to component(s) of wood smoke. Nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2), in amounts produced by a fire, have been proposed to be germination signals for E. penduliflora. We examined the germination response of dormant seeds of E. penduliflora and N. attenuata to aqueous solutions of smoke adjusted to different pHs, and two NO donors [sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP)]. The smoke solutions, at pH 4 or 5, induced the maximum germination response. Aqueous solutions of SNP and SNAP, releasing NOx as high as 42 μM, had no effect on germination. Additionally, NO2 could not be detected in aqueous smoke extracts derived from combusted cellulose or wood. Therefore, unidentified cellulose combustion factors, rather than NOx, are likely to be the ecologically relevant germination signals.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2004

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

Adkins, S.W. and Peters, N.C.B. (2001) Smoke derived from burnt vegetation stimulates germination of arable weeds. Seed Science Research 11, 213222.Google Scholar
Baldwin, I.T. and Morse, L. (1994) Up in smoke: II. Germination of Nicotiana attenuata in response to smoke-derived cues and nutrients in burned and unburned soils. Journal of Chemical Ecology 20, 23732391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baldwin, I.T., Staszak-Kozinski, L. and Davidson, R. (1994) Up in smoke: I. Smoke-derived germination cues for postfire annual, Nicotiana attenuata Torr. ex Watson. Journal of Chemical Ecology 20, 23452371.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beligni, M.V. and Lamattina, L. (2000) Nitric oxide stimulates seed germination and de-etiolation, and inhibits hypocotyl elongation, three light-inducible responses in plants. Planta 210, 215221.Google Scholar
Brown, N.A.C. (1993) Promotion of germination of fynbos seeds by plant-derived smoke. New Phytologist 123, 575583.Google Scholar
Cohn, M.A. and Castle, L. (1984) Dormancy in red rice. IV. Response of unimbibed and imbibing seeds to nitrogen dioxide. Physiologia Plantarum 60, 552556.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohn, M.A., Butera, D.L. and Hughes, J.A. (1983) Seed dormancy in red rice. III. Response to nitrite, nitrate and ammonium ions. Plant Physiology 73, 381384.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cotton, F.A. and Wilkinson, G. (1962) Nitrogen. pp. 237269. in Advanced inorganic chemistry: A comprehensive text. New York, Wiley-InterscienceGoogle Scholar
Delledonne, M., Xia, Y., Dixon, R.A. and Lamb, C. (1998) Nitric oxide functions as a signal in plant disease resistance. Nature 394, 585588.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dixon, K.W., Roche, S. and Pate, J.S. (1995) The promotive effect of smoke derived from burnt native vegetation on seed-germination of western-Australian plants. Oecologia 101, 185192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Doherty, L.C. and Cohn, M.A. (2000) Seed dormancy in red rice ( Oryza sativa ). XI. Commercial liquid smoke elicits germination. Seed Science Research 10, 415421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durner, J., Wendehenne, D. and Klessig, D.F. (1998) Defense gene induction in tobacco by nitric oxide, cyclic GMP, and cyclic ADP-ribose. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 95, 1032810333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Durner, J., Gow, A.J., Stamler, J.S. and Glazebrook, J. (1999) Ancient origins of nitric oxide signaling in biological systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 96, 1420614207.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gardner, M.J., Dalling, K.J., Light, M.E., Jager, A.K. and van Staden, J. (2001) Does smoke substitute for red light in the germination of light-sensitive lettuce seeds by affecting gibberellin metabolism? South African Journal of Botany 67, 636640.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giba, Z., Grubišić, D. and Konjević, R. (2003) Nitrogen oxides as environmental sensors for seeds. Seed Science Research 13, 187196.Google Scholar
Hendricks, S.B. and Taylorson, R.B. (1974) Promotion of seed germination by nitrate, nitrite, hydroxylamine and ammonium salts. Plant Physiology 54, 304309.Google Scholar
Jaworski, E.G. (1971) Nitrate reductase assay in intact plant tissue. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 43, 12741279.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keeley, J.E. and Fotheringham, C.J. (1997) Trace gas emissions and smoke-induced seed germination. Science 276, 12481250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keeley, J.E. and Fotheringham, C.J. (1998) Mechanism of smoke-induced seed germination in a post-fire chaparral annual. Journal of Ecology 86, 2736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keeley, S.C. and Pizzorno, M. (1986) Charred wood stimulated germination of two fire-following herbs of the California chaparral and the role of hemicellulose. American Journal of Botany 73, 12891297.Google Scholar
Keeley, J.E., Morton, B.A., Pedrosa, A. and Trotter, P. (1985) Role of allelopathy, heat and charred wood in the germination of chaparral herbs and suffrutescents. Journal of Ecology 73, 445458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krock, B., Schmidt, S., Hertweck, C. and Baldwin, I.T. (2002) Vegetation-derived abscisic acid and four terpenes enforce dormancy in seeds of the post-fire annual, Nicotiana attenuata. Seed Science Research 12 239252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Light, M.E. and van Staden, J. (2003) The nitric oxide specific scavenger carboxy-PTIO does not inhibit smoke stimulated germination of Grand Rapids lettuce seeds. South African Journal of Botany 69, 217219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynds, G.Y. and Baldwin, I.T. (1998) Fire, nitrogen and defensive plasticity in Nicotiana attenuata. Oecologia 115, 531540.Google Scholar
Mirov, N.T. (1936) Germination behavior of some California plants. Ecology 17, 667672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Philippi, T. (1993) Bet-hedging germination of desert annuals: beyond the first year. American Naturalist 142, 474487.Google Scholar
Pons, T.L. (1989) Breaking of seed dormancy by nitrate as a gap detection mechanism. Annals of Botany 63, 139143.Google Scholar
Preston, C.A. and Baldwin, I.T. (1999) Positive and negative signals regulate germination in the post-fire annual, Nicotiana attenuata. Ecology 80, 481494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stöhr, C. and Ullrich, W.R. (2002) Generation and possible roles of NO in plant roots and their apoplastic space. Journal of Experimental Botany 53, 22932303.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van de Venter, H.A. and Esterhuizen, A.D. (1988) The effect of factors associated with fire on seed germination of Erica sessiliflora and E. hebecalyx (Ericaceae). South African Journal of Botany 54, 301304.Google Scholar