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Recalcitrant Behaviour of the Seeds of Endangered Syzygium Zeylanicum (L.) DC.

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Abstract

Syzygium zeylanicum (L.) DC. is an endangered tree species indigenous to Western Ghats region and it is traditionally utilized to cure many diseases. The species is sparsely distributed in their natural stands with poor natural regeneration. The present investigation was undertaken with a view to understand the reasons that hinder regeneration process. Physiological, embryological and hormonal changes during embryogeny were studied to understand any developmental anomalies. Embryogeny was typical as that in other dicots with globular, heart, torpedo and cotyledonary stages and no deformations could be identified. Physiological data showed two distinct phases during embryogeny; histodifferentiation and reserve food accumulation stages, and no maturation drying stage. The predominant PGRs identified during histodifferentiation process were IAA (9.96 ng gfw−1), GA4 (9.33 ng gfw−1), BA (484.85 ng gfw−1), ABA (10.58 ng gfw−1), 24-epiBL (18.34 ng gfw−1) and cisJ (10.92 ng gfw−1). Reserve food accumulation phase was marked by the rapid influx and accumulation of IAA (140.17 ng gfw−1), IBA (21.43 ng gfw−1), GA4 (25.53 ng gfw−1), BA (790.04 ng gfw−1), ABA (111.31 ng gfw−1) and cisJ (15.21 ng gfw−1) from the maternal tissues. The seed shedding stage showed the accumulation of higher quantities of GA4 (90.12 ng gfw−1) and lower ABA (26.93 ng gfw−1) with GA4/ABA ratio of 3.34 indicating clear hormonal antagonism during germination. SA was found to accumulate in exceptionally high quantities during embryogeny (from 5335.88 ng gfw−1 to 14699 ng gfw−1). Germination and desiccation study indicated the extreme desiccation intolerance of the seeds and the critical moisture content was found to be 23.70% with an electrolyte leakage of 134.65 µS cm− 1. The results indicate the true recalcitrant behaviour of Syzygium zeylanicum seeds.

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Data Availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this article.

Abbreviations

SA:

Salicylic acid

IAA:

Indole 3-acetic acid

IBA:

Indole 3-butyric acid

GA:

Gibberellic acid

BA:

Benzyl aminopurine

ABA:

Abscisic acid

tZ:

trans Zeatin

tZR:

trans-Zeatin riboside

JA:

Jasmonic acid

cisJ:

Cis-jasmone

MeJA:

Methyl Jasmonate

24-epiBL:

24-epibrassinolide

ACC:

Amino cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid

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Acknowledgements

We greatly acknowledge the facilities provided by University of Kerala, Trivandrum for the successful completion of the work and also acknowledge the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (ICAR) Bengaluru, Karnataka for the LC-MS/MS facility for phytohormonal profiling.

Funding

No funding was received for conducting this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany and Research Center, Mahatma Gandhi College, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695004, India

    K. P. Sharanya

  2. Department of Botany and Research Center, Govt. College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695014, India

    K. G. Ajith Kumar & Parvathy S. Nair

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  1. K. P. Sharanya
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  3. Parvathy S. Nair
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Contributions

KPS and KGAK contributed to the study conception, design, formal analysis and investigation. PSN did the data curation. All authors contributed to original draft preparation of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to K. P. Sharanya.

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Sharanya, K.P., Ajith Kumar, K.G. & Nair, P.S. Recalcitrant Behaviour of the Seeds of Endangered Syzygium Zeylanicum (L.) DC.. J Plant Growth Regul 42, 2626–2636 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-022-10732-z

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