Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Seed germination is negatively affected by salinity, which is thought to be due to both osmotic and ion-toxicity effects. We hypothesize that salt is absorbed by seeds, allowing them to generate additional osmotic potential, and to germinate in conditions under which they would otherwise not be able to germinate. METHODS: Seeds of barley, Hordeum vulgare, were germinated in the presence of either pure water or one of five iso-osmotic solutions of polyethylene-glycol (PEG) or NaCl at 5, 12, 20 or 27 °C. Germination time courses were recorded and germination indices were calculated. Dry mass, water content and sodium concentration of germinating and non-germinating seeds in the NaCl treatments at 12 °C were measured. Fifty supplemental seeds were used to evaluate the changes in seed properties with time. KEY RESULTS: Seeds incubated in saline conditions were able to germinate at lower osmotic potentials than those incubated in iso-osmotic PEG solutions and generally germinated faster. A positive correlation existed between external salinity and seed salt content in the saline-incubated seeds. Water content and sodium concentration increased with time for seeds incubated in NaCl. At higher temperatures, germination percentage and dry mass decreased whereas germination index and sodium concentration increased. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that barley seeds can take up sodium, allowing them to generate additional osmotic potential, absorb more water and germinate more rapidly in environments of lower water potential. This may have ecological implications, allowing halophytic species and varieties to out-compete glycophytes in saline soils.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
Barley seeds germinated at lower osmotic potentials in saline conditions than in iso-osmotic PEG solutions.
- Taxon
- barley
.jpg?width=60)
Hordeum vulgaret0 - Treatment
- saline conditionse0
- Outcome
- germinate at lower osmotic potentialse0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Comparator
- iso-osmotic PEG solutionse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“Seeds incubated in saline conditions were able to germinate at lower osmotic potentials than those incubated in iso-osmotic PEG solutions”
t0“barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Barley seeds generally germinated faster in saline conditions than in iso-osmotic PEG solutions.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Treatment
- saline conditionse0
- Outcome
- germinated fastere0
- Direction
- fastere0
- Comparator
- iso-osmotic PEG solutionse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Seeds incubated in saline conditions were able to germinate at lower osmotic potentials than those incubated in iso-osmotic PEG solutions and generally germinated faster.”
t0“barley”
Claim · model-written summary
External salinity was positively correlated with seed salt content.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Treatment
- external salinitye0
- Outcome
- seed salt contente0
- Direction
- positivee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“A positive correlation existed between external salinity and seed salt content in the saline-incubated seeds.”
t0“barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Water content increased over time in barley seeds incubated in NaCl.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Treatment
- NaCle0
- Outcome
- Water contente0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- with timee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Water content and sodium concentration increased with time for seeds incubated in NaCl.”
t0“barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Sodium concentration increased over time in barley seeds incubated in NaCl.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Treatment
- NaCle0
- Outcome
- sodium concentratione0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Qualifier
- with timee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Water content and sodium concentration increased with time for seeds incubated in NaCl.”
t0“barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Germination percentage decreased at higher temperatures.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Treatment
- higher temperaturese0
- Outcome
- germination percentagee0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“At higher temperatures, germination percentage and dry mass decreased whereas germination index and sodium concentration increased.”
t0“barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Seed dry mass decreased at higher temperatures.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Treatment
- higher temperaturese0
- Outcome
- dry masse0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“At higher temperatures, germination percentage and dry mass decreased whereas germination index and sodium concentration increased.”
t0“barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Germination index increased at higher temperatures.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Treatment
- higher temperaturese0
- Outcome
- germination indexe0
- Direction
- increasede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“At higher temperatures, germination percentage and dry mass decreased whereas germination index and sodium concentration increased.”
t0“barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Seed sodium concentration increased at higher temperatures.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Treatment
- higher temperaturese0
- Outcome
- sodium concentratione0
- Direction
- increasede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“At higher temperatures, germination percentage and dry mass decreased whereas germination index and sodium concentration increased.”
t0“barley”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest sodium uptake generates additional osmotic potential that enables water absorption and faster germination at lower water potential.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Compound
- sodiume0
- Outcome
- germinate more rapidlye0
- Qualifier
- environments of lower water potentiale0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“barley seeds can take up sodium, allowing them to generate additional osmotic potential, absorb more water and germinate more rapidly in environments of lower water potential.”
t0“barley”
The same questions in other papers
salinity · growth · Hordeum vulgare (barley)Positive and negative results
13 papers in the same direction as this paper · 89 in the opposite direction
- negative
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See all 103 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.