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Effect of artificially accelerated aging on the vigor of Metasequoia glyptostroboides seeds

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Abstract

Metasequoia glyptostroboides is an endangered relict plant native to China that has been widely introduced into many countries and areas around the world. However, its seeds germinate at a very low percentage. Consequently, population regeneration by seed is low under natural conditions, which probably contributes to the endangered status of this plant species. The present study aimed to describe the aging mechanism of M. glyptostroboides seeds. Our objective was to elucidate causes of the low germination rate in an effort to enhance potential for conservation of the species. We used germination tests, relative electrical conductivity and malondialdehyde content determination, ultrastructural observation of embryo cells, and analysis of superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and dehydroascorbate reductase activities during accelerated aging treatment. We found that M. glyptostroboides seeds have a low level of vigor and poor ability to maintain vigor, which is probably associated with the inefficiency of its enzymatic antioxidative system.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

AsA:

Ascorbate peroxidase

CAT:

Catalase

CM:

Cytoplasmic membrane

CW:

Cell wall

DC:

Druse crystal

DHA:

Dehydroascorbate

DHAR:

Dehydroascorbate reductase

DW:

Dry weight

G:

Glyoxysome

GCC:

Globoid crystal cavity

GR:

Glutathione reductase

GSH:

Glutathione

GSSG:

Oxidized glutathione

H2O2 :

Hydrogen peroxide

IS:

Intercellular space

ISTA:

International rules for seed testing

LB:

Lipid body

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

MDHAR:

Monodehydroascorbate reductase

Mt:

Mitochondrion

N:

Nucleus

\({\text{O}}_{ 2}^{ - }\) :

Superoxide radicals

·OH:

Hydroxy radicals

1O2 :

Singlet oxygen

P:

Probability

PB:

Protein body

PPFD:

Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density

RH:

Relative humidity

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

S:

Starch granule

SE:

Standard error

SG:

Soft globoid

S–N–K:

Student–Newman–Keuls

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Research Project of Hubei Provincial Department of Education (Q20141902). We thank LetPub (www.letpub.com) for providing linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forestry and Horticulture, Hubei University for Nationalities, Enshi, 445000, People’s Republic of China

    Huan Liu, Yanfang Zhu, Xia Liu, Yu Jiang, Shiming Deng, Xunru Ai & Zhijun Deng

  2. Tibet University, Lhasa, 850000, Tibet Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China

    Xia Liu

  3. Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China

    Xia Liu

  4. Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Shiming Deng

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  1. Huan Liu
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  2. Yanfang Zhu
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  3. Xia Liu
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Correspondence to Zhijun Deng.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Huan Liu and Yanfang Zhu contributed equally to this work.

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Project funding: This work was supported by the Research Project of Hubei Provincial Department of Education (Q20141902).

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Corresponding editor: Zhu Hong.

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Liu, H., Zhu, Y., Liu, X. et al. Effect of artificially accelerated aging on the vigor of Metasequoia glyptostroboides seeds. J. For. Res. 31, 769–779 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-018-0840-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-018-0840-1

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