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Proteome Responses to Desiccation in Talauma ovata Seeds

Talauma ovata (Magnoliaceae) seeds become visible upon fruit dehiscence

This project is one of a series in the theme of 'Diagnosis of Viability and Germination'.

Talauma ovata is indigenous to the riparian forest that is closely linked to the cerrado, an endangered biome with high biodiversity in Brazil under threat by human impact. Only a small fraction of the cerrado is protected in reserves; entire populations of species within the biome are destroyed at a high rate as a result of agriculture, mining and hydro-electric operations. Studies into seed behaviour of cerrado species contributes to the conservation of these species under threat. T. ovata is a common woody species of the riparian forest. Seeds of T. ovata are difficult to germinate for several reasons. Firstly, germination is extremely slow and takes ±2 months. This can partly be explained by a very small embryo; indeed, morphological dormancy has been described for other members of the Magnoliaceae family. In addition, the seed also has physiological dormancy that needs to be broken for successful germination. Lastly, severe drying kills the seed as it is sensitive to desiccation. A large fraction of all species in the riparian woody species has been classified as dormant or desiccation sensitive. The combination of both factors in T. ovata makes this species a good case study, although challenging. In order to better understand the behaviour of these difficult seeds gene expression is characterised in relation to desiccation and physiological dormancy; proteins will be identified that correlate with the physiological condition.

The objective of this project is to identify proteins that are involved in dormancy and seed desiccation. The purpose is to generate a better understanding of dormancy and seed desiccation of a species intolerant to full desiccation. The project may lead to the development of a diagnostics test to assess dormancy and desiccation tolerance in any accession of the MSB. The project links with another future PhD project on desiccation tolerance that investigates the re-induction of desiccation tolerance in intolerant systems, and aims at developing a protocol to improve storage of recalcitrant species.

Duration: 2003-2007

Outputs: PhD thesis, peer-reviewed publications

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