The development of seedlings from fragments of monoembryonic seeds as an important survival strategy for Eugenia (Myrtaceae) tree species

Author(s)

Teixeira, Carmen C. ^{[1, 2]} ; Barbedo, Claudio J. ^[3]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Biociencias, Dept Bot, BR-18618000 Botucatu, SP - Brazil

^[2] EE Heloisa Assumpcao, Secretaria Educ, BR-06192010 Osasco, SP - Brazil

^[3] Inst Bot, Nucleo Pesquisa Sementes, BR-01061970 Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: TREES-STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION; v. 26, n. 3, p. 1069-1077, JUN 2012.
• Web of Science Citations: 10

Abstract

The uncommon ability of monoembryonic seeds of Eugenia to develop seedlings after cutting or even after the removal of more than half of their storage tissue has recently been reported. Some Eugenia species are included among those at risk of disappearing, so the regeneration of plantlets from fragments of seeds could be an important mechanism both for the production of more than one normal seedling per seed and to understand the survival strategies of these species. Because the period in which this ability is present has not been studied, we analyzed the regenerative capacity of seeds of five Brazilian native species of Eugenia, considering two levels of maturity and three germination phases. Mature seeds have a greater potential to regenerate than immature ones; germinating seeds showed that the longer the root protrusion, the smaller the potential to regenerate new seedlings. However, our results clearly demonstrate that the ability to regenerate new roots or complete seedlings is present during a long period from the beginning of development until the late phases of germination. Cutting is potentially important to obtain plants on a larger scale. Because of intense predation of these seeds, this ability could be linked to an essential strategy for survival even after the removal of more than half of the storage tissues. As an alternative strategy to orthodox seeds, whose preservation is based on tolerance to desiccation, the recalcitrant seeds of Eugenia probably adopted the great reserve quantity and the regenerative capacity, allowing them to undergo successive germinations. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 05/04139-7 - Carbohydrates of tropical species as modulators of ecophysiological processes and as environmental stress response markers
• Grantee: Marcia Regina Braga
• Support type: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 02/12215-7 - Aromatic flora from the Atlantic rain forest in São Paulo: chemical composition on volatile oils and evaluation of their biological activity
• Grantee: Paulo Roberto Hrihorowitsch Moreno
• Support type: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants