Changes in the levels of thiamin-binding globulin and thiamin in wheat seeds during maturation and germination were studied. The thiamin-binding activity of the seed proteins increased with seed development after flowering. The thiamin content of the seeds also increased with development. Thiamin-binding activity decreased during seed germination. On the other hand, immunological analysis using...

It is commonly accepted that species interactions such as granivory are more intense in the tropics. However, this has rarely been tested. A global dataset of post-dispersal seed removal by invertebrates and vertebrates for 79 native plant species from semi-natural and natural terrestrial habitats ranging from 55° N to 45° S, was compiled from the global literature to test the hypothesis that p...

A seed shadow is the spatial distribution of all seeds dispersed from an individual plant (Janzen, 1970; Nathan and Muller-Landau, 2000; Schupp et al., 2002). The sum of seed shadows across all individuals in a population plus those seeds dispersed from other populations makes up seed rain. For vertebrate-dispersed species, seed shadows are the primary outcome of plant–frugivore interactions, y...

BACKGROUND Knowledge about how change the importance of soil seed bank and relationship between seed mass and abundance during vegetation succession is crucial for understanding vegetation dynamics. Many studies have been conducted, but their ecological mechanisms of community assembly are not fully understood. METHODOLOGY We examined the seasonal dynamics of the vegetation and soil seed bank...

Soil seed banks serve as reservoirs for future plant communities, and when diverse and abundant can buffer vegetation communities against environmental fluctuations. Sparse seed banks, however, may lead to future declines of already rare species. Seed banks in wetland communities are often robust and can persist over long time periods making wetlands model systems for studying the spatial and t...

Current research has determined that traits involved in reproductive strategies and processes of seed dynamics should be studied together, and under varying environments, in order to clarify their roles in the ecology of plant communities. Here, we analyzed reproductive traits (allocation to reproduction, efficiency of seed production, and seed size) at the community level and their relationshi...

Context-dependency in species interactions is widespread and can produce concomitant patterns of context-dependent selection. Masting (synchronous production of large seed crops at irregular intervals by a plant population) has been shown to reduce seed predation through satiation (reduction in rates of seed predation with increasing seed cone output) and thus represents an important source of ...

In Arabidopsis, the regulation network of the seed maturation program controls the induction of seed dormancy. Wheat EST sequences showing homology with the master regulators of seed maturation, leafy cotyledon1 (LEC1), LEC2 and FUSCA3 (FUS3), were searched from databases and designated respectively as TaL1L (LEC1-LIKE), TaL2L (LEC2-LIKE), and TaFUS3. TaL1LA, TaL2LA and TaFUS3 mainly expressed ...

Access to seed is crucial for farming, though few studies investigate household-level access in the informal ‘farmer seed systems’ which still supply most seed in poor countries. This paper uses empirical data of seed exchange practices for sorghum in eastern Ethiopia to analyze how social relationships influence access to off-farm seed for a major crop. Seed shortfalls are common, and farmer–f...

Proximate chemical, amino acid, antinutritional factors (ANF) and mineral composition of Highworth, Rongai White and Rongai Brown varieties of Lablab purpureus seed were determined. Lablab purpureus seed irrespective of the variety was lower in crude protein but higher in crude fibre than FFSB. The three varieties of lablab seed analyzed in the present study contained between 7.22-9.23% of crud...