Age‐dependent loss of seed viability is associated with increased lipid oxidation and hydrolysis

Abstract

The accumulation of reactive oxygen species has been associated with a loss of seed viability. Therefore, we have investigated the germination ability of a range of seed stocks, including two wheat collections and one barley collection that had been dry‐aged for 5–40 years. Metabolite profiling analysis revealed that the accumulation of glycerol was negatively correlated with the ability to germinate in all seed sets. Furthermore, lipid degradation products such as glycerol phosphates and galactose were accumulated in some seed sets. A quantitative analysis of nonoxidized and oxidized lipids was performed in the wheat seed set that showed the greatest variation in germination. This analysis revealed that the levels of fully acylated and nonoxidized storage lipids like triacylglycerols and structural lipids like phospho‐ and galactolipids were decreasing. Moreover, the abundance of oxidized variants and hydrolysed products such as mono‐/diacylglycerols, lysophospholipids, and fatty acids accumulated as viability decreased. The proportional formation of oxidized and nonoxidized fatty acids provides evidence for an enzymatic hydrolysis of specifically oxidized lipids in dry seeds. The results link reactive oxygen species with lipid oxidation, structural damage, and death in long‐term aged seeds.

The effects of high oxygen partial pressure on vegetable Allium seeds with a short shelf-life

“…A rapid loss of seed viability in both seed ageing assays for Allium suggest that oxidation processes including lipid oxidation is a major mechanism for the oxygen-dependent seed ageing of Allium (Salama and Pearce 1993;Bailly 2004;Nagel and Börner 2010;Groot et al 2012;Sano et al 2016). A recent study on 'natural' ageing by 5-40 years seed dry storage of wheat and barley demonstrated that also the long-term age-dependent loss of seed viability is associated with increased lipid oxidation (Wiebach et al 2019). The salad onion (A. cepa x A. fistulosum cv.…”

Analysis of Stored mRNA Degradation in Acceleratedly Aged Seeds of Wheat and Canola in Comparison to Arabidopsis

“…Third, the similar rates of mRNA degradation in the aged seeds of wheat, canola, and Arabidopsis imply that some seed aging characteristics inferred from stored mRNAs of one plant species may be applicable to those of the other plant species. This implication may carry more weight and utility for genebanks, as seed conservation is involved with thousands of plant species [5]. Thus, stored mRNAs have the potential to be developed as a useful seed aging biomarker, like those speculated by Fu et al [2].…”

“…The last decade has seen an increased interest in studies of seed longevity [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. This largely reflects the need to address the challenges faced in the efforts to manage and conserve ex situ seed germplasm worldwide [15].…”

A matter of life and death: Molecular, physiological, and environmental regulation of seed longevity

“…Over the past decades, numerous investigations have identified intrinsic genetic and physiological factors involved in the regulation of seed longevity. For instance, ROS production and elimination (Rajjou et al, ; Rajjou & Debeaujon, ; Wiebach, Nagel, Börner, Altmann, & Riewe, ), the concentrations of plant hormones (Shu et al, ; Shu, Zhou, & Yang, ), repair and maintenance systems for nucleic acids and proteins (Chen et al, ; Fleming, Richards, & Walters, ; Petla et al, ; Waterworth et al, ), and the presence of several storage compounds (Li et al, ; Zhou et al, ) play important roles, via complex pathways or networks, in controlling seed longevity (Figure ).…”

“…Over the past decades, numerous investigations have identified intrinsic genetic and physiological factors involved in the regulation of seed longevity. For instance, ROS production and elimination Rajjou & Debeaujon, 2008;Wiebach, Nagel, Börner, Altmann, & Riewe, 2019), the concentrations of plant hormones (Shu et al, 2015;, repair and maintenance systems for nucleic acids and proteins (Chen et al, 2012;Fleming, Richards, & Walters, 2017;Petla et al, 2016;Waterworth et al, 2016), and the presence of several storage compounds (Li et al, 2017;Zhou et al, 2019) play important roles, via complex pathways or networks, in controlling seed longevity (Figure 1). 4.1 | ROS production and scavenging are key processes in seed longevity regulation ROS are considered to be regulators of seed germination, and thus, they also have effects on the control of seed longevity (Jeevan Kumar, Rajendra Prasad, Banerjee, & Thammineni, 2015).…”