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1. Seed permeability: an essential trait for classifying seed dormancy type

   https://doi.org/10.1017/S0960258524000059  

   McCulloch, Lindsay A; Dalling, James W; Zalamea, Paul-Camilo (March 2024, Seed Science Research)

   Abstract Seed dormancy in plants can have a significant impact on their ecology. Recent work by Rojas-Villa and Quijano-Abril (2023) classified the seed dormancy class in 14 plant species from the Andean forests of Colombia by using germination trials and several microscopy techniques to describe seed anatomy and morphology. The authors conclude thatCecropiaspecies have both physical and physiological dormancy (of which they call physiophysical dormancy) based on seed morphology and mean germination times of over 30 days. Here, we present seed permeability and germination data from neotropical pioneer tree species:Ochroma pyramidale,Cecropia longipes, andCecropia insignis, as well asCecropia peltata(present in Rojas-Villa and Quijano-Abril, 2023), to demonstrate thatCecropiaspecies do not exhibit dormancy and also have high levels of seed permeability. We find that the mean germination time for all threeCecropiaspecies in our study was less than 30 days. This suggests a need for reporting the conditions in which germination trials take place to allow for comparability among studies and using seed permeability tests to accurately identify the physical dormancy class of seeds. Further, we present data from the literature that suggests that dormancy is not a requirement for seed persistence in the seed bank. 

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2. Statistical inference for seed mortality and germination with seed bank experiments

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3948  

   Siegmund, Gregor‐Fausto; Geber, Monica A. (January 2023, Ecology)
3. Frugivory, seed dispersal, and seed predation by Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii)

   Blackburn, A; Susanto, TW; Knott, CD (January 2020, 6th Annual Meeting of the Northeastern Evolutionary Primatologists)

   null (Ed.)

   Seed dispersal is important for forest growth, maintenance, and regeneration. Orangutans are large-bodied frugivores with ecological roles as seed predators and seed dispersers. However, little is known about orangutans’ ecological roles and how they relate to orangutans’ patterns of frugivory. We investigated Bornean orangutans’ (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) ecological roles at the Cabang Panti Research Station in Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesian Borneo. We collected orangutan feces (n=401) and analyzed them for intact seeds (August 2018 to March 2020). We observed orangutan fruit handling behavior for 306 feeding bouts for 53 fruit genera to measure how often orangutans swallow, spit, or predate seeds. We used Ivlev’s Electivity Index to analyze fruit preference using long-term feeding data and phenology data (2014-2019). Lastly, we combined fruit preference with fruit handling behavior using the seed dispersal effectiveness framework to identify which fruit taxa were most effectively dispersed. Orangutans dispersed seeds in 71.8% of fecal samples with a mean of 27.9 ±4.5 (SD=0.95) seeds (>2mm) per fecal sample. Orangutans predated seeds more often than spitting or swallowing seeds (predating= 42.1% of fruit feeding time; spitting= 21.8%; swallowing= 12.5%; mixed behaviors= 10.6%, not observed=12.0%). Additionally, the top five preferred fruit genera, (Dialium, Sindora, Scaphium, Magnifera, and Spatholobus) were highly predated (0 to 5% of seeds dispersed). We identified Alangium and Tetramerista as the most effectively dispersed genera, orangutans frequently dispersed and preferred these fruits. We found orangutans are frequent seed predators, but this overlaps with their seed dispersal role, and we describe orangutans’ seed dispersal contribution. Funders: NSF (9414388, BCS-1638823, BCS-0936199); National Geographic; USFish/Wildlife (F18AP00898, F15AP00812, F13AP00920, 96200-0-G249, 96200-9-G110); Leakey; Disney Conservation Fund; Wenner-Gren; Nacey-Maggioncalda; Conservation-Food-Health; Orangutan Conservancy; Woodland Park Zoo; Boston University GRAF 

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4. Nest-mediated seed dispersal

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-017-0763-5  

   Warren, Robert J.; Love, Jason P.; Bradford, Mark A. (October 2017, Plant Ecology)
5. Disruption of the Arabidopsis Acyl-Activating Enzyme 3 Impairs Seed Coat Mucilage Accumulation and Seed Germination

   https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25021149  

   Cheng, Ninghui; Nakata, Paul A. (January 2024, International Journal of Molecular Sciences)

   The Acyl-activating enzyme (AAE) 3 gene encodes an oxalyl-CoA synthetase that catalyzes the conversion of oxalate to oxalyl-CoA as the first step in the CoA-dependent pathway of oxalate catabolism. Although the role of this enzyme in oxalate catabolism has been established, its biological roles in plant growth and development are less understood. As a step toward gaining a better understanding of these biological roles, we report here a characterization of the Arabidopsis thaliana aae3 (Ataae3) seed mucilage phenotype. Ruthidium red (RR) staining of Ataae3 and wild type (WT) seeds suggested that the observed reduction in Ataae3 germination may be attributable, at least in part, to a decrease in seed mucilage accumulation. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the expression of selected mucilage regulatory transcription factors, as well as of biosynthetic and extrusion genes, was significantly down-regulated in the Ataae3 seeds. Mucilage accumulation in seeds from an engineered oxalate-accumulating Arabidopsis and Atoxc mutant, blocked in the second step of the CoA-dependent pathway of oxalate catabolism, were found to be similar to WT. These findings suggest that elevated tissue oxalate concentrations and loss of the oxalate catabolism pathway downstream of AAE3 were not responsible for the reduced Ataae3 seed germination and mucilage phenotypes. Overall, our findings unveil the presence of regulatory interplay between AAE3 and transcriptional control of mucilage gene expression. 

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