Arid Zone Research ›› 2022, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (5): 1473-1485.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2022.05.12

• Plant Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Physiological and biochemical characteristics of Erodium oxyrrhynchum spring/autumn-germinated plants and seeds

Kawushaer KUDUSI1,2(),LIU Huiliang1,3(),ZHANG Lan1,2,Dilixiadanmu TASHENMAIMAITI1,2   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    3. Yili Botanical Garden, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinyuan 835800, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2022-01-22 Revised:2022-03-15 Online:2022-09-15 Published:2022-10-25
  • Contact: Huiliang LIU E-mail:452349097@qq.com;liuhuiliang@ms.xjb.ac.cn

Abstract:

Erodium oxyrrhynchum is a dominant hygroscopic plant in Gbandonggut Desert, which can be germinated in different seasons. In this research, the biological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics of its parent plants and seeds were analyzed, and the phenotypic plasticity and reproductive strategy differences of hygroscopic seedlings were investigated. Results showed that (1) autumn-germinated plants of E. oxyrrhynchum can resist stress injury by accumulating proline and soluble sugar in winter. (2) In the stress environment, spring-germinated plants were primarily dependent on SOD and CAT to clean up the toxicity caused by ROS, whereas autumn-germinated plants were primarily dependent on POD and CAT to clean up the toxicity. (3) The comprehensive evaluation of resistance showed that the resistance of autumn-germinated plants was higher than that of spring-germinated plants. (4) The number of seeds per autumn-germinated plant was over 60, and the 100-seed weight was 0.323 ± 0.0026 g. The number of seeds per spring-germinated plant was approximately 20, and the 100-seed weight was 0.376 ± 0.0014 g. (5) Correlation analysis of various indexes of seeds of spring/autumn-germinated plants showed that under high and low-temperature stress, the content of the four kinds of seed included in this study was significantly and positively correlated with the antioxidant enzyme system. In addition, the BR content of seeds of spring-germinated plants was significantly and negatively correlated with three antioxidant enzymes, whereas the BR content of seeds of autumn-germinated plants was significantly and positively correlated with the antioxidant enzyme system. (6) Analysis of the seed character network showed that continuous high and low-temperature stress affected the complexity of the seed network of E. oxyrrhynchum, and the complexity of the seed network of spring-germinated plants was higher than that of autumn-germinated plants. Under stress, the physiological and biochemical indexes of the seeds of spring-germinated plants were strongly correlated. In general, autumn-germinated plants of E. oxyrrhynchum had stronger resistance, and they tended to produce more and smaller seeds. Therefore, the progeny can have more genetic diversity, and it can improve the adaptability of the species to the environment. Spring-germinated plants were less resistant, and they produced fewer seeds with high quality and stability, which could improve seedling establishment under stress.

Key words: Erodium oxyrrhynchum, germination in different time, physiological and biochemical characteristics, resistance, phenotype plasticity, reproductive strategy