Alkaline phytase activity, with a pH optimum of 8, was recovered from detergent extracts of dormant seeds of nine varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris L., Pisum sativum L. var. Early Alaska, and Medicago sativa L. This alkaline phytase of legume seeds was activated by calcium and differed from most seed phytases in its relative insensitivity to inhibition by fluoride.

seed dormancy is a temporary failure of a viable seed to germinate. various methods are used for breaking seed dormancy, depending on plant species and type of dormancy. three seed populations originated from esfahan, semnan and fars provinces were exposed to different seed dormancy breaking treatments such as mechanical and chemical scarification, humid chilling, ga3 and polyethylenglycol 6000...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Parkinsonia aculeata (Caesalpinaceae) is a perennial legume with seeds that have hard-seeded (physical) dormancy and are potentially very long-lived. Seed dormancy is a characteristic that can both help maximize the probability of seedling establishment and spread the risk of recruitment failure across years (bet-hedging). In this study, dormancy-release patterns are describ...

Production of heteromorphic seeds is common in halophytes growing in arid environments with strong spatial and temporal heterogeneity. However, evidence for geographic variation (reflecting local adaptation) is almost nonexistent. Our primary aims were to compare the life history traits of two desert populations of this halophytic summer annual Suaeda corniculata subsp. mongolica and to investi...

Seeds consist of encapsulated plant embryos in a highly resistant and desiccated state. Seeds enhance plant fitness by allowing plants to withhold their growth until the appearance of appropriate environmental conditions. Thereupon, seeds germinate, allowing the resumption of the plant’s life cycle. However, protection and propagation is not expected per se to confer fitness without germination...

Dormancy release in imbibed annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaud.) seeds is promoted in the dark but inhibited in the light. The role of abscisic acid (ABA) in inhibition of dormancy release was found to be negligible, compared with its subsequent effect on germination of dormant and non-dormant seeds. Inhibitors of ABA metabolism had the expected effects on seed germination but did not influen...

Ethylene increased the germination of freshly imbibed lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. Grand Rapids) seeds. Seeds receiving either red or far-red light or darkness all showed a positive response to the gas. However, ethylene was apparently without effect on dormant seeds, those which failed to germinate after an initial red or far-red treatment. Carbon dioxide, which often acts as a competitive ...

Dormant Arabidopsis seeds require stratification and light for germination. To study gene expression during establishment, maintenance and release of dormancy, various Arabidopsis ecotypes that are different in their degree of dormancy were investigated; three nsm mutants that lack the stratification-dependency, and the precocious germination and reduced dormancy of the abi3-1 mutant (insensiti...

"Changes in cell hydration" have been hypothesized as an input signal for intracellular metabolic cascade responsible for biological effects of nonionizing radiation (NIR). To test this hypothesis a comparative study on the impacts of different temperature and NIR (infrasound frequency mechanical vibration (MV), static magnetic field (SMF), extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF EMF...