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Seed Priming with Gibberellin Regulates the Germination of Cotton Seeds Under Low-Temperature Conditions

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Abstract

Exogenous substances play an important role in the response of cotton to low-temperature conditions during the germination stage, but little is known about the mechanism involved. To fill this knowledge gap, experiments were conducted to clarify the effects of the application of exogenous substances on the germination, storage substances, endogenous hormones and activities of antioxidant enzymes after gibberellin (GA3) treatment under low-temperature conditions. The results showed that in XinLuZao65 (L) under low-temperature conditions, all exogenous substances tested increased the germination potential (GP) and germination index (GI) and decreased the mean time of germination (MTG), but GA3, 2,4-epibrassinolide (EBR), methyl jasmonate, fluridone, and salicylic acid elevated the germination rate in this variety. In XinHai35 (H) at 12 °C, exogenous substances increased the GI and decreased the MTG, but only EBR, hydrogen sulfide, and nitric oxide decreased the GP of this variety, whereas exogenous GA3 had the best effect on seed germination at low temperature. After exogenous GA3 and low-temperature treatment, the activities of superoxide dismutase and lipase, the contents of maize riboside, GA3 and indole-acetic acid in cotton seeds were higher than those in the control, while the peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and amylase activities and the contents of abscisic acid (ABA), malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), starch, total sugars and total proteins were lower than those of the control. Correlation analysis revealed that ABA, adipose, CAT, H2O2, POD, GA3 and GA3/ABA were the main factors affecting the germination of cotton seeds at low temperature. Therefore, exogenous GA3 regulates the balance of endogenous hormones, enhances the activities of key enzymes, and reduces the accumulation of active oxygen, thereby accelerating the metabolism and conversion of materials and improving the low-temperature tolerance of cotton seeds during the germination stage.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Program of Youth Science and Technology Innovation Leader of The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (No. 2017CB005); The Third Division Tumushuke City Science and Technology of The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (No. YJ2019CX01); The National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31960439).

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  1. Jun Xia and Xianzhe Hao have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Bioengineering, Hunan University of Science and Engineering, Yongzhou, 425199, Hunan, China

    Yongchang Liu

  2. Key Laboratory of Oasis Eco-Agriculture, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Shihezi University, Shihezi, 832003, Xinjiang, China

    Jun Xia, Xianzhe Hao, Xiaojuan Shi & Honghai Luo

  3. Agricultural Science Institute of the Third Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Tumushuke, 843806, Xinjiang, China

    Tangang Wang & Huiqin Li

  4. Shaanxi Agricultural Technology Promotion Station, Xi’an, 710003, China

    Jun Xia

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HL and JX designed the experiments; JX and XH performed the experiments and collected the data; HL, YL, HL, XS, TW, and JX analysed the data and prepared the manuscript; and all authors contributed to and approved the manuscript.

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Xia, J., Hao, X., Wang, T. et al. Seed Priming with Gibberellin Regulates the Germination of Cotton Seeds Under Low-Temperature Conditions. J Plant Growth Regul 42, 319–334 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-021-10549-2

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