S. Demeillon et al., POSSIBLE ROLE OF THE ADENYLATE ENERGY-CHARGE IN DORMANCY ALLEVIATION OF STRELITZIA-JUNCEA SEEDS, Plant physiology and biochemistry, 32(3), 1994, pp. 347-354
The alleviation of dormancy of Strelitzia juncea seeds by oxygen treat
ment, resulted in an increase in the adenylate energy charge during th
e pre-germination phase, with values > 0.8 in comparison with values <
0.7 for dormant seeds. The ATP concentration of the embryos of oxygen
treated seeds increased linearly and was higher than that of the embr
yos of air-incubated seeds. ATP/ADP ratios increased from 2.32 on day
one to 7.32 on day four just prior to germination, while the highest v
alue for dormant seeds was 2.8. The AMP content for the two treatments
differed only on day one. Over the four days of incubation, the adeny
late pool of the embryos of oxygen treated seeds was four times higher
than that of the control treatment. It is concluded that, in contrast
to most dormant seeds requiring stratification for dormancy release,
and to dormant Avena sativa seeds which experience hypoxic conditions,
the energy metabolism of dormant S. juncea seeds may be limiting duri
ng normal incubation.