Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Max L. E. Grafnings, Jannes H. T. Heusinkveld, Nadia Hijner, Dieuwke J. J. Hoeijmakers, Quirin Smeele, Maarten Zwarts, Tjisse van Der Heide, Laura L. Govers
Summary: Coastal ecosystem restoration is often ineffective and expensive in practice. The upscaling of restoration efforts to functionally relevant spatial scales remains a major challenge.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Rebecca S. Barak, Zhao Ma, Lars A. Brudvig, Kayri Havens
Summary: Research shows that managers consider biodiversity as the most important restoration objective, and factors influencing seed mix design include seed availability. The survey found that managers most frequently used their own experience and consultation with other practitioners to guide seed mix design, and commonly used tools developed within their organization.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Bianca Berto, Todd E. Erickson, Alison L. Ritchie
Summary: Seed enhancement technologies (SETs) were used to improve seed handling and germination of Australian native grasses. Flash flaming and acid digestion were successful in reducing bulky floret structures while maintaining or improving germination. Hydropriming did not improve germination outcomes when applied after other treatments.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Javier Canales, Jose Verdejo, Gabriela Carrasco-Puga, Francisca M. Castillo, Anita Arenas-M, Daniel F. Calderini
Summary: This study conducted a transcriptomic analysis of the relationship between seed weight and number in two rapeseed genotypes, revealing that a reduction in the source-sink ratio induced the expression of specific gene groups related to sucrose transport, seed weight, and stress responses. Additionally, the research identified co-expression modules correlated with seed weight and negatively correlated with seed number, with a significant enrichment of transcription factors in one module. Network analysis predicted NAC transcription factors as key regulators of seed weight and number compensation in rapeseed.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jie Chen, Bingqing Pan, Zixiong Li, Yue Xu, Xiaomeng Cao, Jingjing Jia, Huolin Shen, Liang Sun
Summary: Seed size and shape are crucial for plant reproduction, dispersal, and agronomic traits. The fruit shape loci sun, ovate, and fs8.1 regulate the morphology of the fruit, flower, leaf, and stem, and also play a role in seed morphogenesis. However, the underlying mechanism of seed morphology variation has not been thoroughly investigated. Using near isogenic lines (NILs) with different combinations of the fruit shape loci, the histological, physiological, and transcriptional bases of seed morphology change were studied. The interactions between loci and the overall interaction among all three loci led to significant changes in seed size. The fruit shape loci down-regulated the seed shape index (SSI), except for the sun/fs8.1 double NIL, which resulted in reductions in both seed length and width and a decrease in SSI. Histologically, these morphological changes were attributed to variations in cell number. Transcriptional and physiological analyses revealed the involvement of phytohormone, cytoskeleton, sugar transportation, and degradation-related genes in the regulation of seed morphology by the fruit shape loci.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Shuangshuang Xin, Hongli Dong, Lei Yang, Dengwen Huang, Fajing Zheng, Yixin Cui, Shuang Wu, Jinghang Liao, Yajun He, Huafang Wan, Zhi Liu, Xiaorong Li, Wei Qian
Summary: Through genome-wide association analysis, the study identified SNPs and genes related to two components of seed yield in rapeseed, SNPP and SW, and found overlapping loci with the same direction of genetic effects on both components.
MOLECULAR BREEDING
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Markus Bauer, Jakob K. Huber, Johannes Kollmann
Summary: Sowing, especially using seed mixtures adapted to environmental conditions, is an effective restoration technique to overcome dispersal limitation and protect critical infrastructures. An improved seed-substrate combination can enhance slope stability, make restorations more effective, and generate species-rich grasslands.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Francieli de Lima Tartaglia, Alessandro Dal'Col Lucio, Maria Ines Diel, Andre Luis Tischler, Dionatan Ketzer Krysczun, Joao Alberto Zemolin, Lucas Encarnacao Marques
Summary: The study aims to estimate the plot and sample sizes as well as the number of repetitions needed for evaluating the number of pods per plant and the mass of pods per plant in pea cultivation. Uniformity tests conducted in the experimental area helped determine the necessary field and sample sizes for different pea varieties.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Saif Salim Saif Al-Mezeini, Mohd Asim Siddiqui, Mohammad Shariq, Talal M. Althagafi, Inas A. Ahmed, Mohammad Asif, Sultan J. Alsufyani, Saud A. Algarni, M. B. Niyaz Ahamed, Khalda M. A. Elamin, Abdel-Nasser M. A. Alaghaz, Mohammed M. Gomaa
Summary: Gulf countries face a water supply and demand imbalance, resulting in a significant decrease in groundwater. Solar energy for water desalination is an appealing option due to the region's sunny climate. The use of a single basin solar still, a basic solar device, can potentially address the issue of producing drinking water. However, its low productivity limits its widespread use. Experiments were conducted on a south-facing, single slope solar still with different water depths. The findings indicated that a solar still with a 4 cm depth exhibited the highest water productivity (2.680 L/day) and an efficiency of 30%. When equipped with an external mirror, the productivity increased to 3.075 L/day with an improved efficiency of 35%. Additionally, the study analyzed the effects of wind velocity, ambient temperature, inner glass temperature, and solar radiation intensity on daily productivity.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Joanna M. Garaventa, V. Thomas Parker
Summary: The research revealed a clear relationship between A. fasciculatum and resident and migratory granivores in the chaparral, as well as the significant role of seed banks in vegetation recovery following fires. The 8-month seed rain duration with over 1 million seeds per square meter, multiple seed predators including passerines and rodents, and the potential role of native ants in seed dispersal were documented. The study also showed that a 39-year-old stand had higher germination rates than stands of different ages, emphasizing the importance of seed banks in ensuring resilience.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Cailong Xu, Tingting Wu, Shan Yuan, Shi Sun, Tianfu Han, Wenwen Song, Cunxiang Wu
Summary: Increasing soybean production is crucial for global food security and human health. This study shows that selecting soybean cultivars with larger seed sizes does not necessarily result in higher seed yield or protein content. In fact, it may even reduce seed yield. Additionally, there is a negative correlation between seed lipids content and hundred seed weight.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Dengyu Xiong, Mingliang Wu, Wei Xie, Rong Liu, Haifeng Luo
Summary: A general-purpose seeding device was designed and tested for its general properties and optimized performance parameters, showing good seeding efficiency and precision.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Qinghua Guo, Tianshu Jiang, Ruo-Yang Zhang, Lei Zhang, Zhao-Qing Zhang, Biao Yang, Shuang Zhang, C. T. Chan
Summary: Experimental observation of non-Abelian topological charges and edge states in a PT-symmetric transmission line network, along with the discovery of a non-Abelian quotient relation for the bulk-edge correspondence. This new topological property opens up possibilities for intriguing observable phenomena in the field of material science.
Review
Agronomy
Sangam L. Dwivedi, Charles Spillane, Francesca Lopez, Belay T. Ayele, Rodomiro Ortiz
Summary: Seeds are valuable sources of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, fibers, minerals, and vitamins with important implications for germinating seedlings, human food, livestock feed, and industrial feedstocks. Recent research has highlighted key seed traits, such as gene expression changes during seed filling, and the potential role of epigenetics in seed development and chemistry. Understanding the functional effects of gene variants is crucial for managing genetic resources efficiently and redesigning crops with specific seed characteristics.
Article
Ecology
Kathleen R. Balazs, Seth M. Munson, Bradley J. Butterfield
Summary: The influence of community functional composition on ecosystem properties increases with community biomass, particularly in disturbed or low productivity systems. Active management should focus not only on trait values that optimize individual ecosystem indicators, but also on how functional strategies complement or counter those that increase biomass.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2022)