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Journal of Experimental Botany 2009 60(6):1619-1631; doi:10.1093/jxb/erp037
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© 2009 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This paper is available online free of all access charges (see http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/open_access.html for further details)

RESEARCH PAPER

Water movement into dormant and non-dormant wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grains

Judith R. Rathjen1, Ekaterina V. Strounina2 and Daryl J. Mares1,*

1Plant and Food Science, School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia
2Centre for Magnetic Resonance, Gehrmann Laboratories, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia

* To whom correspondence should be addressed: E-mail: daryl.mares{at}adelaide.edu.au

The movement of water into harvest-ripe grains of dormant and non-dormant genotypes of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was investigated using Magnetic Resonance Micro-Imaging (MRMI). Images of virtual sections, both longitudinal and transverse, throughout the grain were collected at intervals after the start of imbibition and used to reconstruct a picture of water location within the different grain tissues and changes over time. The observations were supplemented by the weighing measurements of water content and imbibition of grains in water containing I2/KI which stains starch and lipid, thereby acting as a marker for water. In closely related genotypes, with either a dormant or a non-dormant phenotype, neither the rate of increase in water content nor the pattern of water distribution within the grain was significantly different until 18 h, when germination became apparent in the non-dormant genotype. Water entered the embryo and scutellum during the very early stages of imbibition through the micropyle and by 2 h water was clearly evident in the micropyle channel. After 12 h of imbibition, embryo structures such as the coleoptile and radicle were clearly distinguished. Although water accumulated between the inner (seed coat) and outer (pericarp) layers of the coat surrounding the grain, there was no evidence for movement of water directly across the coat and into the underlying starchy endosperm.

Key words: Dormancy, germination, imbibition, MRI, Triticum aestivum, water, wheat

Received 29 September 2008; Revised 21 November 2008 Accepted 26 January 2009


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