Effect of Polyamine Priming on Chilling Tolerance of Lolium perenne during Seed Imbibition

[Objective] This study aimed to investigate the effect of potyamine priming on physiological and biochemical variations of Lolium perenne embryos and seed germination. [Method] With annual Lolium perenne （Diamond T and Grazing-8000） as experimental materials, after priming with 0.5 mmol/L putrescine （Put）, spermidine （Spd） and spermine （Spm） for 24 h and chilling imbibition at 5 ℃ for 12, 24, 36 and 48 h, the effect of Put, Spd and Spm priming on chilling tolerance and germination ability of annual Lolium perenne seeds during imbibition was investigated. [Result] Put, Spd and Spm priming improved the activities of peroxidase （POD）, catalase （CAT）, superoxide dismutase （SOD） and ascorbate peroxidase （APX） and content of soluble protein content under low temperature stress, significantly in-creased the germination rate, and shortened the average germination duration. After chilling imbibition for 48 h, compared with the control, the average germination rate of annual Lolium perenne seeds was improved by 15.5% and 12.0% after Put, Spd and Spm priming, and the average germination duration was shortened by 1.21 and 1.14 d. During seed imbibition, the chilling tolerance of Grazing-8000 was stronger than that of Diamond T. Overall, Put, Spd and Spm treatment could increase the chilling tolerance of annual Lolium perenne seeds during imbibition, and improve the germination ability of seeds under low temperature stress. [Conclusion] Results of this study provided theoretical basis for the application of seed priming technology in the production of annual ryegrass.

RNA-Seq Study Reveals AP2-Domain-Containing Signalling Regulators Involved in Initial Imbibition of Seed Germination in Rice

A number of internal signals are required for seed germination.However,the precise signalling responses in the initial imbibition of seed germination are not yet fully understood in rice.In this study,the RNA sequencing(RNA-Seq)approach was conducted in 8 h imbibed seeds to understand the signalling responses in the initial imbibition of rice seed germination.A total of 563 differentially expressed genes(DEGs)with at least 4-fold change were identified in 8 h imbibed seeds compared to dry seeds.MapMan analysis revealed that the majority of signalling response-related DEGs were hormone-and transcription factor-related genes,in which the largest number of DEGs belong to the AP2-domain-containing regulators,and their expressions were significantly induced in the initial imbibition of seed germination in rice.Moreover,at least five AP2-domain-containing transcription factor OsDREBs were identified in the initial imbibition of rice seed germination,and the expressions of 251 DEGs were putatively regulated by OsDREBs through the dehydration-responsive element(DRE)cis-element assay.It suggested that the OsDREBs might play important roles in the regulation of initial seed imbibition in rice.The identified genes provide a valuable resource to study the signalling regulation of seed germination in the future.

Expression Patterns of ABA and GA Metabolism Genes and Hormone Levels during Rice Seed Development and Imbibition: A Comparison of Dormant and Non-Dormant Rice Cultivars

Seed dormancy is an important agronomic trait in cereals. Using deep dormant （N22）, medium dormant （ZH11）, and non-dormant （G46B） rice cultivars, we correlated seed dormancy phenotypes with abscisic acid （ABA） and gibberellin （GA） metabolism gene expression profiles and phytohormone levels during seed development and imbibition. A time course analysis of ABA and GA content during seed development showed that N22 had a high ABA level at early and middle seed developmental stages, while at late developmental stage it declined to the level of ZHll; however, its ABA/GA ratio maintained at a high level throughout seed development. By contrast, G46B had the lowest ABA content during seed development though at early developmental stage its ABA level was close to that of ZH11, and its ABA/GA ratio peaked at late developmental stage that was at the same level of ZHll. Compared with N22 and G46B, ZH11 had an even and medium ABA level during seed development and its ABA/GA ratio peaked at the middle developmental stage. Moreover, the seed development time-point having high ABA/GA ratio also had relatively high transcript levels for key genes in ABA and GA metabolism pathways across three cultivars. These indicated that the embryo-imposed dormancy has been induced before the late developmental stage and is determined by ABA/GA ratio. A similar analysis during seed imbibition showed that ABA was synthesized in different degrees for the three cultivars. In addition, water uptake assay for intact mature seeds suggested that water could permeate through husk barrier into seed embryo for all three cultivars; however, all three cultivars showed distinct colors by vanillin-staining indicative of the existence of flavans in their husks, which are dormancy inhibition compounds responsible for the husk-imposed dormancy.