Ela, 31 Jahre alt, ist unbeschwert, lustig und chaotisch. Sie meidet feste Bindungen und lebt von One-Night-Stands, seit ihr als Teenager das Herz gebrochen wurde. Doch als ein neuer Nachbar einzieht, gerät ihr Leben durcheinander, denn er weckt unerwartete Gefühle in ihr.
Towards an understanding of seed deterioration
The preservation of biodiversity, particularly plant genetic resources, is crucial for future life on Earth. Ex-situ gene banks were established to protect related wild species and local landraces by storing seeds. This book explores the aging of seeds, focusing on wheat, barley, and rapeseed, examining how factors like genotype, environmental conditions, and storage affect seed viability. It discusses biochemical changes during seed aging and emphasizes the need for optimized storage conditions to prevent genetic drift and extend seed lifespan in gene banks.
Long-term survival of stored seeds is crucial, particularly for the 7.4 million accessions in genebanks. This study investigates the genetic and biochemical mechanisms of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) seed deterioration under various storage conditions, from cold storage with low seed moisture content (smc) to high smc experimental ageing. The research employed quantitative genetic analyses across four mapping populations to assess the genetic impact on seed deterioration. Three bi-parental barley mapping populations were aged experimentally, leading to the identification of four major loci on chromosomes 2H, 5H, and 7H, accounting for up to 54% of phenotypic variation. Confirmation came from a fourth population of independent barley accessions, which revealed 105 marker-trait associations (MTAs) across 32 loci, indicating that both biotic and abiotic stresses influence seed longevity. The study also examined the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) and its reduction potential in seeds that had lost viability during storage (5 to 13 years) and those subjected to artificial ageing. A general depletion of the glutathione pool and a shift to more oxidizing conditions were observed with decreasing viability, with significant correlations between viability and GSH metrics. Clusters of ageing treatments emerged, influenced by higher smc levels during artificial ageing. Interestingly, tocochromanols, primarily tocotrienols, showed no correlat