BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The long-term conservation of seeds of plant genetic resources is of key importance for food security and preservation of agrobiodiversity. Nevertheless, there is scarce information available about seed longevity of many crops under germplasm bank conditions. METHODS: Through germination experiments as well as the analysis of historical monitoring data, we studied the decline in viability manifested by 1000 maize (Zea mays subsp. mays) seed accessions conserved for an average of 48 years at the CIMMYT germplasm bank, the largest maize seedbank in the world, under two cold storage conditions: an active (-3 °C; intended for seed distribution) and a base conservation chamber (-15 °C; for long-term conservation). KEY RESULTS: Seed lots stored in the active chamber had a significantly lower and more variable seed germination, averaging 81.4 %, as compared with the seed lots conserved in the base chamber, averaging 92.1 %. The average seed viability detected in this study was higher in comparison with that found in other seed longevity studies on maize conserved under similar conditions. A significant difference was detected in seed germination and longevity estimates (e.g. p85 and p50) among accessions. Correlating seed longevity with seed traits and passport data, grain type showed the strongest correlation, with flint varieties being longer lived than floury and dent types. CONCLUSIONS: The more rapid loss of seed viability detected in the active chamber suggests that the seed conservation approach, based on the storage of the same seed accessions in two chambers with different temperatures, might be counterproductive for overall long-term conservation and that base conditions should be applied in both. The significant differences detected in seed longevity among accessions underscores that different viability monitoring and regeneration intervals should be applied to groups of accessions showing different longevity profiles.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The long-term conservation of seeds of plant genetic resources is of key importance for food security and preservation of agrobiodiversity. Nevertheless, there is scarce information available about seed longevity of many crops under germplasm bank conditions. METHODS: Through germination experiments as well as the analysis of historical monitoring data, we studied the decline in viability manifested by 1000 maize (Zea mays subsp. mays) seed accessions conserved for an average of 48 years at the CIMMYT germplasm bank, the largest maize seedbank in the world, under two cold storage conditions: an active (-3 °C; intended for seed distribution) and a base conservation chamber (-15 °C; for long-term conservation). KEY RESULTS: Seed lots stored in the active chamber had a significantly lower and more variable seed germination, averaging 81.4 %, as compared with the seed lots conserved in the base chamber, averaging 92.1 %. The average seed viability detected in this study was higher in comparison with that found in other seed longevity studies on maize conserved under similar conditions. A significant difference was detected in seed germination and longevity estimates (e.g. p85 and p50) among accessions. Correlating seed longevity with seed traits and passport data, grain type showed the strongest correlation, with flint varieties being longer lived than floury and dent types. CONCLUSIONS: The more rapid loss of seed viability detected in the active chamber suggests that the seed conservation approach, based on the storage of the same seed accessions in two chambers with different temperatures, might be counterproductive for overall long-term conservation and that base conditions should be applied in both. The significant differences detected in seed longevity among accessions underscores that different viability monitoring and regeneration intervals should be applied to groups of accessions showing different longevity profiles.
Authors: Susan McCouch; Gregory J Baute; James Bradeen; Paula Bramel; Peter K Bretting; Edward Buckler; John M Burke; David Charest; Sylvie Cloutier; Glenn Cole; Hannes Dempewolf; Michael Dingkuhn; Catherine Feuillet; Paul Gepts; Dario Grattapaglia; Luigi Guarino; Scott Jackson; Sandra Knapp; Peter Langridge; Amy Lawton-Rauh; Qui Lijua; Charlotte Lusty; Todd Michael; Sean Myles; Ken Naito; Randall L Nelson; Reno Pontarollo; Christopher M Richards; Loren Rieseberg; Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra; Steve Rounsley; Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton; Ulrich Schurr; Nils Stein; Norihiko Tomooka; Esther van der Knaap; David van Tassel; Jane Toll; Jose Valls; Rajeev K Varshney; Judson Ward; Robbie Waugh; Peter Wenzl; Daniel Zamir Journal: Nature Date: 2013-07-04 Impact factor: 49.962
Authors: A Mondoni; S Orsenigo; M Donà; A Balestrazzi; R J Probert; F R Hay; A Petraglia; T Abeli Journal: Ann Bot Date: 2014-03-27 Impact factor: 4.357
Authors: M Gianella; A Balestrazzi; A Pagano; J V Müller; A C Kyratzis; D Kikodze; M Canella; A Mondoni; G Rossi; F Guzzon Journal: Plant Biol (Stuttg) Date: 2019-12-10 Impact factor: 3.081
Authors: Svein Øivind Solberg; Flemming Yndgaard; Christian Andreasen; Roland von Bothmer; Igor G Loskutov; Åsmund Asdal Journal: Front Plant Sci Date: 2020-07-03 Impact factor: 5.753
Authors: Dmitry A Afonnikov; Evgenii G Komyshev; Vadim M Efimov; Mikhail A Genaev; Vasily S Koval; Peter U Gierke; Andreas Börner Journal: Plants (Basel) Date: 2021-12-23