{"title":"Environmental and physiological factors influencing seed longevity of three Brazilian endemic cacti during in situ storage","authors":"Jessyca Adelle Silva Santos , Humberto Araújo Almeida , Marcos Vinicius Meiado , Queila Souza Garcia","doi":"10.1016/j.flora.2025.152711","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Seed lifespan is a critical component of biodiversity conservation. Therefore, understanding the environmental and physiological components of seed longevity is crucial for outlining appropriate management strategies in the context of current and future climate. Here, we studied the effects of parental plant environment on cacti seed deterioration during in situ storage and the physiological mechanisms influencing seed viability in populations of <em>Cereus jamacaru, Pilosocereus catingicola</em> ssp<em>. salvadorensis</em>, and <em>Xiquexique gounellei</em> ssp. <em>gounellei</em> from drier and wetter locations of the Caatinga. Seeds were placed in nylon bags at a depth of 5 cm in an area of natural occurrence of the three species. We periodically tested exhumed seeds for germinability, oxidative stress, antioxidant activity, protein, and sugar content. Results showed that all species have potential to form a short-term persistent seed bank. Burial time decreased seed viability, which was accompanied by protein and sugar degradation, increased lipid peroxidation, and decreased antioxidant capacity. Parental environment also affected viability loss in <em>C. jamacaru</em> seeds: after 12 months, 60% more seeds from wetter locations successfully germinated compared to drier ones. These intraspecific variations were linked to differences in sugar metabolism and maintenance of antioxidant capacity. Overall, the findings improve our understanding of cacti seed longevity and potential climate impacts on cacti conservation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55156,"journal":{"name":"Flora","volume":"326 ","pages":"Article 152711"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Flora","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0367253025000416","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ECOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Seed lifespan is a critical component of biodiversity conservation. Therefore, understanding the environmental and physiological components of seed longevity is crucial for outlining appropriate management strategies in the context of current and future climate. Here, we studied the effects of parental plant environment on cacti seed deterioration during in situ storage and the physiological mechanisms influencing seed viability in populations of Cereus jamacaru, Pilosocereus catingicola ssp. salvadorensis, and Xiquexique gounellei ssp. gounellei from drier and wetter locations of the Caatinga. Seeds were placed in nylon bags at a depth of 5 cm in an area of natural occurrence of the three species. We periodically tested exhumed seeds for germinability, oxidative stress, antioxidant activity, protein, and sugar content. Results showed that all species have potential to form a short-term persistent seed bank. Burial time decreased seed viability, which was accompanied by protein and sugar degradation, increased lipid peroxidation, and decreased antioxidant capacity. Parental environment also affected viability loss in C. jamacaru seeds: after 12 months, 60% more seeds from wetter locations successfully germinated compared to drier ones. These intraspecific variations were linked to differences in sugar metabolism and maintenance of antioxidant capacity. Overall, the findings improve our understanding of cacti seed longevity and potential climate impacts on cacti conservation.
期刊介绍:
FLORA publishes original contributions and review articles on plant structure (morphology and anatomy), plant distribution (incl. phylogeography) and plant functional ecology (ecophysiology, population ecology and population genetics, organismic interactions, community ecology, ecosystem ecology). Manuscripts (both original and review articles) on a single topic can be compiled in Special Issues, for which suggestions are welcome.
FLORA, the scientific botanical journal with the longest uninterrupted publication sequence (since 1818), considers manuscripts in the above areas which appeal a broad scientific and international readership. Manuscripts focused on floristics and vegetation science will only be considered if they exceed the pure descriptive approach and have relevance for interpreting plant morphology, distribution or ecology. Manuscripts whose content is restricted to purely systematic and nomenclature matters, to geobotanical aspects of only local interest, to pure applications in agri-, horti- or silviculture and pharmacology, and experimental studies dealing exclusively with investigations at the cellular and subcellular level will not be accepted. Manuscripts dealing with comparative and evolutionary aspects of morphology, anatomy and development are welcome.