A race for survival: Can Bromus tectorum seeds escape Pyrenophora semeniperda-caused mortality by germinating quickly?

Julie Beckstead; Susan E. Meyer; Cherrilyn J. Molder; Caitlyn Smith

doi:10.1093/aob/mcm028

Treesearch

A race for survival: Can Bromus tectorum seeds escape Pyrenophora semeniperda-caused mortality by germinating quickly?

Formally Refereed

Authors:

Julie Beckstead, Susan E. Meyer, Cherrilyn J. Molder, Caitlyn Smith

Year:

2007

Type:

Miscellaneous Publication

Station:

Rocky Mountain Research Station

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcm028

Source:

Annals of Botany. 99: 907-914.

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Abstract

Pathogen-seed interactions may involve a race for seed resources, so that seeds that germinate more quickly, mobilizing reserves, will be more likely to escape seed death than slow-germinating seeds. This race-for-survival hypothesis was tested for the North American seed pathogen Pyrenophora semeniperda on seeds of the annual grass Bromus tectorum, an invasive plant in North America. In this species, the seed germination rate varies as a function of dormancy status; dormant seeds germinate slowly if at all, whereas non-dormant seeds germinate quickly.

Keywords

biocontrol, biotic resistance, cheatgrass, Drechslera campanulata, invasive species, mycoherbicide, pathogen, seed bank, seed-borne

Citation

Beckstead, Julie; Meyer, Susan E.; Molder, Cherrilyn J.; Smith, Caitlyn. 2007. A race for survival: Can Bromus tectorum seeds escape Pyrenophora semeniperda-caused mortality by germinating quickly? Annals of Botany. 99: 907-914.