植物种子老化的生理学研究进展

The physiology of plant seed aging: a review

摘要:

种子品质的优劣对于农牧业生产、经济与遗传资源有效利用、生物多样性保护以及植物群落恢复与重建具有重要的作用。种子老化是其在贮藏过程中普遍存在的一种生理现象，是随着种子贮藏时间延长而发生和发展的自然不可逆过程，不仅关系到后续种、苗生长与产量、品质等问题，还对植物种质资源的保存、利用和开发等均具有重要影响。种子老化的生理机制复杂多样，现有研究往往仅进行常规的生理特征分析，缺乏系统、全面的深入探讨。基于此，文中对国内外关于种子老化的生理学研究进展进行了归纳与总结，从种子老化的方法、老化对种子发芽的影响、种子老化的生理和分子机制几个方面进行了综述。针对种子老化过程中如种子活力、电导率(electrical conductivity, EC)、丙二醛(malondialdehyde, MDA) 含量，种子内贮藏物质、抗氧化酶活性、线粒体结构等一系列生理参数的变化；并从种子的转录组、蛋白质组和老化相关基因功能等层面阐明了种子老化的机制，为种子生物学的研究和种质资源保存与利用等科学问题提供了一定的理论依据。

Abstract:

Seed quality plays an important role in the agricultural and animal husbandry production, the effective utilization of genetic resources, the conservation of biodiversity and the restoration and reconstruction of plant communities. Seed aging is a common physiological phenomenon during storage. It is a natural irreversible process that occurs and develops along with the extension of seed storage time. It is not only related to the growth, yield and quality of seed and seedling establishment, but also has an important effect on the conservation, utilization and development of plant germplasm resources. The physiological mechanisms of seed aging are complex and diverse. Most studies focus on conventional physiological characterization, while systematic and comprehensive in-depth studies are lacking. Here we review the recent advances in understanding the physiology of seed aging process, including the methods of seed aging, the effect of aging on seed germination, and the physiological and molecular mechanisms of seed aging. The change of multiple physiological parameters, including seed vigor, electrical conductivity, malondialdehyde content and storage material in the seed, antioxidant enzyme activity and mitochondrial structure, were summarized. Moreover, insights into the mechanism of seed aging from the aspects of transcriptome, proteome and aging related gene function were summarized. This study may facilitate the research of seed biology and the conservation and utilization of germplasm resources.