Effects of High g Values on Growth and Chlorophyll Content in Hydrated and Dehydrated Wheat Seeds

Abstract

Higher g value stimuli (gravitational acceleration more than 1 g and referred as hyper gravity) caused by centrifugation have been shown to inhibit elongation growth of various plants. In the present study, effects of high g values were studied on wheat seeds with and without water medium at the time of exposure to high g values. Wheat seeds (variety: LOK-1) were washed with 0.5% fungicide and then 4-5 times with distilled water (D/W). Seeds were then soaked in D/W for 24 hrs. Two different experiments were performed. In initial experiment, soaked seeds were taken into the centrifuge tubes filled with 1 ml D/W. Seeds were exposed to hypergravity ranging from 500 g to 2500 g for 10 minutes. In another experiment, soaked seeds were taken into the centrifuge tubes without water or any other medium and then exposed to high g values. After exposure seeds were immediately sowed on 0.8% agar gel. Results obtained showed that exposure to high g values suppressed growth in wheat seedlings when seeds were exposed to high g values with water as a medium. Chlorophyll content also decreased with increase in g. However, no change in growth and chlorophyll content were observed when seeds were exposed without water medium up to g values as high as 2500. Thus, effects of high g value stimuli depend not only on how much centrifugal force is applied to the seeds but also depends upon how much force is experienced by the inner part of the seeds. Present observation shows that effective centrifugal force experienced by the seeds is different when applied with and without medium.

Influence of hypergravity – a novel stimulus on root growth phenotype and physio-biochemical parameters in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.)

“…Similarly, exposing moss (Physcomitrella patens), a model plant to chronic hypergravity (10g for 8 weeks) significantly increased chloroplast size leading to enhanced photosynthetic rate and biomass (Takemura et al, 2017). In contrast, wheat and rice seedlings in response to acute hypergravity (100 to 500g for 10 mins and 500 to 3000g for 10 mins) showed significantly reduced chlorophyll content (Jagtap and Vidyasagar 2010). The photosynthesis rate and associated factors declined with increasing hypergravity intensity (Dixit et al 2017).…”