A Compound from Smoke That Promotes Seed Germination

Flematti, Gavin R.; Ghisalberti, Emilio L.; Dixon, Kingsley W.; Trengove, Robert D.

doi:10.1126/science.1099944

Cited by 635 publications

(499 citation statements)

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“…Our investigation into the A. manglesii germination stimulant revealed that it was not produced by the burning of cellulose, a substrate that is known to produce karrikinolide 11 . Instead, combustion of plant material was required to obtain smoke-water extracts that stimulated the germination of A. manglesii (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Testing of an authentic racemic sample of glyceronitrile 20 against seeds of A. manglesii and the South African species Rhodocoma arida (Restionaceae), which also responds poorly to karrikinolide 11 , confirmed that glyceronitrile (2) was bioactive with both species (Fig. 3a,b).…”

Section: Confirmation Of Germination Activitymentioning

confidence: 89%

“…In 2004, a potent bioactive compound in cellulose-and plant-derived smoke was identified as 3-methyl-2H-furo [2,3-c]pyran-2-one (1) (Fig. 1a) 11 , which was recently named karrikinolide (or KAR 1 ) after the Aboriginal Noongar word for smoke, karrik 12 . Smoke-responsive seeds of a large number of species respond to karrikinolide, demonstrating that it is a major contributor to the germination activity of smoke and an ecologically significant germination cue [13][14][15] .…”

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Burning vegetation produces cyanohydrins that liberate cyanide and stimulate seed germination

et al. 2011

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Cyanide is well known for its toxicity towards living organisms. many plants use cyanide as a defensive agent against herbivores, releasing it through the enzymatic hydrolysis of endogenous cyanogenic compounds. At low concentrations, cyanide has been proposed to have a regulatory role in many plant processes including stimulation of seed germination. However, no ecological role for cyanide in seed germination has been established. In the present study, we show that burning plant material produces the cyanohydrin, glyceronitrile. We also show that, in the presence of water, glyceronitrile is slowly hydrolysed to release cyanide that stimulates seed germination of a diverse range of fire-responsive species from different continents. We propose that glyceronitrile serves as an ecological store for cyanide and is an important cue for stimulating seed germination and landscape regeneration after fires.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Confirmation Of Germination Activitymentioning

confidence: 89%

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confidence: 99%

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Burning vegetation produces cyanohydrins that liberate cyanide and stimulate seed germination

et al. 2011

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“…Periods of (moist) cold stratification (4-5 C) for up to 90 d can increase germination percentage and rate in the woody species Allocasuarina verticillata (Moncur et al, 1997), Eucalyptus pauciflora (Beardsell and Mullett, 1984) and in one provenance of Banksia saxicola (Middleton et al, 1996), but no studies have tested the effect of warm stratification on seed dormancy-break in Australian species. Other studies have found that seeds of many Australian species are responsive to smoke and smoke products (Dixon et al, 1995;Flematti et al, 2004;Merritt et al, 2006), thermic pulsing (Tieu et al, 2001a), afterripening (Schutz et al, 2002) and light . Nevertheless, there remain a number of common Australian species that do not respond to these treatments and are difficult to germinate (Dixon et al, 1995;Tieu et al, 2001b;Merritt and Dixon, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecophysiology of Seed Dormancy in the Australian Endemic Species Acanthocarpus preissii (Dasypogonaceae)

et al. 2006

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Background and Aims Seedlings of Acanthocarpus preissii are needed for coastal sand dune restoration in Western Australia. However, seeds of this Western Australian endemic have proven to be very difficult to germinate. The aims of this study were to define a dormancy-breaking protocol, identify time of suitable conditions for dormancybreak in the field and classify the type of seed dormancy in this species.Methods Viability, water-uptake (imbibition) and seed and embryo characteristics were assessed for seeds collected in 2003 and in 2004 from two locations. The effects of GA 3 , smoke-water, GA 3 + smoke-water and warm stratification were tested on seed dormancy-break. In a field study, soil temperature and the moisture content of soil and buried seeds were monitored for 1 year.Key Results Viability of fresh seeds was >90 %, and they had a fully developed, curved-linear embryo. Fresh seeds imbibed water readily, with mass increasing approx. 52 % in 4 d. Non-treated fresh seeds and those exposed to 1000 ppm GA 3 , 1 : 10 (v/v) smoke-water/water or 1000 ppm GA 3 + 1 : 10 (v/v) smoke-water/water germinated <8 %. Fresh seeds germinated to >80 % when warm-stratified for at least 7 weeks at 18/33 C and then moved to 7/18 C, whereas seeds incubated continuously at 7/18 C germinated to <20 %.Conclusions Seeds of A. preisii have non-deep physiological dormancy that is released by a period of warm stratification. Autumn (March/April) is the most likely time for warm stratification of seeds of this species in the field. This is the first report of the requirement for warm stratification for dormancy release in seeds of an Australian species.

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“…The chemical identity of the germination cue has recently been characterized as 3-methyl-2H-furo[2,3-c]-pyran-2-one ( Figure 1) from burned cellulose (11) and plantderived smoke (12). It can promote seed germination at concentrations as low as 10 -9 M (11,12), although the mode of action of this compound in promoting germination it still unknown and will require further research. In some earlier studies on smoke-stimulated germination, the effect of different sources of smoke, including liquid foodflavoring smoke, on seed germination was investigated (13)(14)(15).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation of a Seed Germination Promoter from Carbohydrates and Amino Acids

Light

Burger

Staden

2005

J. Agric. Food Chem.

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The ability of plant-derived smoke to act as a germination cue in many species has led to widespread interest in this aspect of seed biology. Recently, 3-methyl-2H-furo[2,3-c]pyran-2-one was identified as the main germination cue from smoke. Here, we report on the formation of this compound from reactions of sugars with amino acids. Heating proteins or amino acids with sugars at 180 C for 30 min produces water soluble extracts that promote germination. High-performance liquid chromatography indicated that the active compound(s) derived from these reactions coeluted with the active fraction from a smoke solution. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy showed that the active constituent is identical to the germination cue from plant-derived smoke. The results presented in this paper provide evidence for the formation of the major germination cue found in smoke from ubiquitously occurring organic compounds.

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A Compound from Smoke That Promotes Seed Germination

Cited by 635 publications

References 4 publications

Burning vegetation produces cyanohydrins that liberate cyanide and stimulate seed germination

Burning vegetation produces cyanohydrins that liberate cyanide and stimulate seed germination

Ecophysiology of Seed Dormancy in the Australian Endemic Species Acanthocarpus preissii (Dasypogonaceae)

Formation of a Seed Germination Promoter from Carbohydrates and Amino Acids

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