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Heat shock-stimulated germination in Mediterranean Basin plants in relation to growth form, dormancy type and distributional range

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Abstract

Heat shock-stimulated germination is frequently considered a trait restricted to a few plant families with impermeable seed coats in the Mediterranean Basin. We aimed to ascertain this general idea by using 68 eastern Mediterranean plant taxa differing in growth form, dormancy type and geographic distributional range. We conducted a laboratory experiment including heat shocks (60, 80, 100, 120 and 140°C for 5 min) and a control treatment, and monitored germination for each species. Among the studied taxa, 24 (35%) showed a significant positive response for at least one of the treatments. Many Cistaceae and Fabaceae species showed a positive germination response to the heat shocks. However, we also observed heat shock-stimulated germination in the Brassicaceae, Malvaceae, Polygonaceae and Scrophulariaceae, and provided additional evidence for the Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae, Plantaginaceae and Rosaceae in the Mediterranean Basin. Distributional range and dormancy type were significant determinants of germination response to heat shocks whereas growth form and phytogeographic origin had lower and/or non-significant contribution. Species with wide or local distribution were less tolerant to moderate heat shocks than those with regional distributional ranges. Species with physically dormant seeds showed significantly more stimulated germination after heat shocks than those with permeable seeds. In conclusion, dormancy type is an important determinant of seed response to heat shock, and an association exists between distributional range and germination response to heat shocks. Our findings revealed that heat shock-stimulated germination is observed across a broader taxonomic spectrum in the Mediterranean Basin, including families not possessing physical dormancy.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Elif Deniz Ülker for her help during seed collection and germination experiments, Cihan Ünal Değirmenci and İsmail Bekar for their contribution to germination experiments, and Barış Özüdoğru, Haşim Altınözlü and Şinasi Yıldırımlı for their support in the identification of plant samples. We are also grateful to Alessandra Fidelis and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that have helped improve the manuscript. This study was financially supported by the Hacettepe University Scientific Research Unit (project No. 012.D06.601.0013). Seeds were collected from the field with permission from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of the Republic of Turkey (No. 1379, date: 09.03.2012). The study formed a part of the requirements for the MSc thesis of Duygu Deniz Kazancı submitted to Hacettepe University. The experiments performed in this study comply with the current laws of Turkey.

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  1. Fire Ecology and Seed Research Laboratory, Division of Ecology, Department of Biology, Hacettepe University, Beytepe, 06800, Ankara, Turkey

    Duygu Deniz Kazancı & Çağatay Tavşanoğlu

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  1. Duygu Deniz Kazancı
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Kazancı, D.D., Tavşanoğlu, Ç. Heat shock-stimulated germination in Mediterranean Basin plants in relation to growth form, dormancy type and distributional range. Folia Geobot 54, 85–98 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-019-09349-0

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