Effects of temperature on the relationship between plant seed germination and pathogenic fungal infection in alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Under natural conditions,pathogenic fungal infection is an important factor leading to seed mortality.However,the relationship between seed characteristics(e.g.,dormancy and germination rate)and pathogenic fun-gal infection under climate change is poorly understood.In this study,seeds of 17 herbaceous plant species collect-ed from an alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were used to perform a germination trail at different temper-atures(10,15,20,and 25 ℃).We examined the effect of temperature on seed germination characteristics and fungal infection,and explored the relationship between fungal infection and seed death and seed germination rate and dormancy characteristics under different temperature conditions.There was a significant negative correlation between seed fungal infection rate and seed mortality and seed dormancy under each temperature(P＜0.001),with the strongest correlation at 25 ℃.Only at 25 ℃,the fungal infection rate and mortality of seeds were significantly positively correlated with the average germination time of seeds(P＜0.05).These results showed that seed dorman-cy can effectively resist the infection of pathogenic fungi under different temperature conditions.In addition,seeds can effectively escape the infection of pathogenic fungi through rapid germination,but their relationship with patho-genic fungi is greatly affected by temperature.This study provides a scientific basis for understanding the relation-ship between seed characteristics and pathogenic fungi in the context of climate change.
temperatureseed survivalseed germinationpathogenic fungusgermination time
万方数据
维普
