Several squirrel species excise the embryo of acorns of most white oak species to arrest germination for long-term storage. However, it is not clear how these acorns counter embryo excision and survive in the arms race of coevolution. In this study, we simulated the embryo excision behavior of squirrels by removing 4 mm of cotyledon from the apical end of white oak acorns differing in embryo depths to investigate the effects of embryo excision on acorn germination and seedling performance of white oak species. The embryo depth in the cotyledons was significantly different among white oak acorns, with Quercus mongolica containing the embryo most deeply in the acorns. We found that artificial embryo excision significantly decreased acorn germination rates of Quercus variabilis, Quercus acutissima, Quercus aliena, Quercus aliena var. acutiserrata, Quercus serrata. var. brevipetiolata but not Q. mongolica. Artificial embryo excision exerted significant negative impacts on seedling performance of all oak species except Quercus aliena. Our study demonstrates the role of embryo depth of acorns in countering embryo excision by squirrels and may explain the fact that squirrels do not perform embryo excision in acorns of Q. mongolica with deeper embryos. This apparent adaptation of acorns sheds light on the coevolutionary dynamics between oaks and their seed predators.

Selecting seeds for long-term storage is a key factor for food hoarding animals. Siberian chipmunks (Tamias sibiricus) remove the pericarp and scatter hoard sound acorns of Quercus mongolica over those that are insect-infested to maximize returns from caches. We have no knowledge of whether these chipmunks remove the pericarp from acorns of other species of oaks and if this behavior benefits seedling establishment. In this study, we tested whether Siberian chipmunks engage in this behavior with acorns of three other Chinese oak species, Q. variabilis, Q. aliena and Q. serrata var. brevipetiolata, and how the dispersal and germination of these acorns are affected. Our results show that when chipmunks were provided with sound and infested acorns of Quercus variabilis, Q. aliena and Q. serrata var. brevipetiolata, the two types were equally harvested and dispersed. This preference suggests that Siberian chipmunks are incapable of distinguishing between sound and insect-infested acorns. However, Siberian chipmunks removed the pericarp from acorns of these three oak species prior to dispersing and caching them. Consequently, significantly more sound acorns were scatter hoarded and more infested acorns were immediately consumed. Additionally, indoor germination experiments showed that pericarp removal by chipmunks promoted acorn germination while artificial removal showed no significant effect. Our results show that pericarp removal allows Siberian chipmunks to effectively discriminate against insect-infested acorns and may represent an adaptive behavior for cache management. Because of the germination patterns of pericarp-removed acorns, we argue that the foraging behavior of Siberian chipmunks could have potential impacts on the dispersal and germination of acorns from various oak species.

To investigate allelic variation of Myb10-1 genes in Chinese wheat and to examine its association with germination level in wheat, a total of 582 Chinese bread wheat cultivars and 110 Aegilops tauschii accessions were used to identify allelic variations of three Myb10-1 genes. Identification results indicated that there is a novel Tamyb10-B1 allele, designated Tamyb10-B1c, in the five Chinese landraces. The Tamyb10-B1c possibly has a large deletion including Tamyb10-B1 gene. There are three novel Tamyb10-D1 alleles (Aetmyb10-D1c, Aetmyb10-D1d and Aetmyb10-D1e) that were discovered in Aegilops tauschii. Of them, Aetmyb10-D1c allele possessed a 104-bp deletion and this resulted in a frame shift in the open reading frame of the Aetmyb10-D1 gene. AETMYB10-D1d and AETMYB10-D1e proteins possessed three and two different amino acids when compared with TAMYB10-D1b protein, respectively. Association of Tamyb10-1 allelic variation with grain germination level indicated that all five allelic combinations with red grains showed a significantly higher GP (germination percentage) and GI (germination index) values than those of white-grained Tamyb10-A1a/Tamyb10-B1a/Tamyb10-D1a genotype after storing it for one year. Moreover, the Tamyb10-A1b/Tamyb10-B1c/Tamyb10-D1b genotype possesses the significantly highest GP and GI among the six different Tamyb10-1 combinations. This study could provide useful information for wheat breeding programme in terms of grain colour and germination level.

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