2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Evaluation of the response properties of seed germination and drought tolerance to rain fall events in Mesquite, an invasive leguminous shrub
Project/Area Number |
25440245
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Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
Section | 一般 |
Research Field |
Ecology/Environment
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Research Institution | Ishinomaki Senshu University |
Principal Investigator |
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Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
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Keywords | メスキート / 降雨 / 発芽 / 乾燥地 |
Outline of Final Research Achievements |
We investigated the response of seed germination and the ecological role of seed gum of mesquite, an invasive leguminous shrub, to rain fall events in arid region. Anatomical observation clarified that mesquite seed has internal structures typical to legume plants, in which innermost parenchyma cells of seed coat dissolved to gel-like seed gum in seed imbibition. Mesquite seeds were confirmed to be highly drought tolerant, because their germination rates maintained 67 to 28 % in -1.6 to -1.9 MPa of osmotic potentials, which were lower than the permanent wilting point of plants. Experiments with extracting seed gum suggested that this substance in imbibing seeds has roles to regulate water balance in germinating seeds, and to store growth substrates of seedlings, which might be some factors of mesquite to expand invasively in arid regions.
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Free Research Field |
生物学
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