JXB Advance Access originally published online on June 18, 2004
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Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 55, No. 402, pp. 1541-1547, July 2004
Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 55, No. 402, © Society for Experimental Biology 2004; all rights reserved
RESEARCH PAPER |
Inheritance of seed desiccation sensitivity in a coffee interspecific cross: evidence for polygenic determinism
IRD, UR 141, 911 Av. Agropolis, BP 64501, F-34394 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: +33 4 67 41 63 30. E-mail: dussert{at}mpl.ird.fr
Received 11 November 2003; Accepted 7 April 2004
| Abstract |
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The genetic determinism of seed desiccation sensitivity was studied using a cross between two coffee species exhibiting a large difference for this trait, Coffea pseudozanguebariae (tolerant) and C. liberica (sensitive). Throughout the whole study, seed desiccation tolerance was quantified both in terms of water content and water activity. Whatever the parameter used, the level of seed desiccation tolerance in F1 hybrids corresponded to that of the mid-parent, thus indicating an additive inheritance of seed desiccation tolerance at the F1 level. A broad variation was observed among hybrids backcrossed to C. liberica (BCs) for seed desiccation tolerance, independent of the parameter used to quantify it. This variation was continuous and BCs showed transgression in the direction of the most desiccation sensitive parent, indicating (i) that desiccation tolerance is a polygenic trait in coffee species, and (ii) that C. pseudozanguebariae does not present the most favourable alleles for all the genes involved in seed desiccation tolerance. No significant difference was observed between the two reciprocal backcrosses, F1xC. liberica and C. libericaxF1, for the level of desiccation tolerance of their seeds, showing the absence of a maternal effect on this trait. There was no significant effect of the number of seeds harvested from each BC on the level of desiccation tolerance of its seeds. Moreover, there was no significant correlation within BCs between seed size, seed viability, and water content before desiccation and desiccation tolerance.
Key words: Additivity, Coffea, coffee, desiccation sensitivity, desiccation tolerance, intermediate seed, transgression
| Introduction |
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Three categories of seed storage behaviour are generally recognized among plant species: orthodox, intermediate, and recalcitrant (Roberts, 1973
Results obtained recently using neem (Sacandé et al., 2001
) and coffee (Eira et al., 1999b
) as model species revealed some of the constitutive characteristics of intermediate seeds (specific embryo water sorption properties; particular seed membrane properties). However, reasons for the high variability observed among intermediate species for the level of desiccation sensitivity of their seeds remain elusive. One approach to study this variability is to search for correlations between the level of desiccation tolerance and some biophysical or biochemical characteristics of the seeds. Di- and oligosaccharides have been proposed to play an important role in the range of hydration levels where coffee seeds are damaged by desiccation (Crowe et al., 1992
; Hoekstra et al., 1997
). However, the differences in seed desiccation tolerance observed between coffee species were not significantly correlated with differences in seed soluble sugar content, suggesting that sugars alone do not confer seed desiccation tolerance (Chabrillange et al., 2000
).
Alternatively, some authors have proposed that the apparent variation for desiccation tolerance among non-orthodox seed species is only an artefact due to the use of water content as the variable to express seed water status (Sun and Liang, 2001
; Walters et al., 2002
). According to these authors, desiccation sensitivity of non-orthodox seed species falls into discrete levels when it is quantified in terms of water potential and not in terms of water content. For example, Sun and Liang (2001)
proposed the existence of discrete levels at 23 and 73 and MPa for intermediate seed species. According to this hypothesis, desiccation sensitivity would not be a quantitative trait in itself, but would represent a series of challenges designed to meet at discrete water potentials (Walters et al., 2002
).
Studying the genetic determinism of seed desiccation sensitivity using crosses between species/genotypes exhibiting a high difference for this trait represents an interesting approach to investigate the cause of (i) the interspecific variability observed for seed desiccation tolerance, and (ii) the existence of a continuum versus discrete levels of seed desiccation sensitivity. Such an approach has already been used, notably for studying variability in seed longevity in rice (Miura et al., 2002
) and Arabidopsis thaliana (Bentsink et al., 2000
) and for the genetic analysis of several compounds that contribute to coffee brew quality, such as seed chlorogenic acid (Campa et al., 2003
) and trigonelline (Ky et al., 2000a
) contents. In the present study, the inheritance of seed desiccation sensitivity was investigated using a cross between C. pseudozanguebariae and C. liberica var. dewevrei, two coffee species which display significant differences in seed desiccation sensitivity (Dussert et al., 1999
; Eira et al. 1999a
). This study provides some new results on the quantitative nature of desiccation sensitivity in coffee species and on the possible number of genes involved in this trait. Throughout the whole study seed desiccation tolerance was quantified both in terms of water content and water activity (function of water potential). Moreover, this study established the technological possibility of developing a candidate gene approach for a better understanding of desiccation sensitivity in intermediate seeds.
| Materials and methods |
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Plant material
Plant material was maintained by and obtained from the IRD Agricultural Station at Man, Côte-d'Ivoire. In 2001, the inheritance of seed desiccation sensitivity was studied through the evaluation of seven genotypes of each of the two parental species, Coffea liberica var. dewevrei Hiern and C. pseudozanguebariae Bridson, seven F1 hybrids, and 23 hybrids backcrossed to C. liberica (Table 1). Each genotype studied corresponded to one tree. The genotypes of C. liberica and C. pseudozanguebariae studied were wild accessions originating from the Central African Republic and Kenya, respectively. Interspecific F1 hybrids were obtained from crosses using C. pseudozanguebariae as the female parent and C. liberica as the pollinator. The reciprocal cross never gave any progeny. Backcross hybrids (BCs), C. libericaxF1 or F1xC. liberica, originated from hand-pollinated crosses. The 23 BCs studied in 2001 were chosen among genotypes showing high fertility (producing more than 500 seeds). By contrast, the 58 BCs studied in 2002 were chosen randomly in the plot, independent of their fertility. The total number of seeds produced by each of these 58 genotypes was recorded as a fertility estimator.
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Desiccation and germination procedures
In all experiments, the endocarp was manually removed from the seeds before treatment. For each genotype studied, seed viability and water content were measured immediately upon receipt in the laboratory. Seed viability at receipt, Vfresh, was estimated using two and three replications of 30 seeds in 2001 and 2002, respectively. For the measurement of seed desiccation sensitivity, in 2001, seeds were desiccated by equilibration at 25 °C over various saturated salt solutions as previously described by Dussert et al. (1999)
Quantification of desiccation sensitivity
For the 44 genotypes studied in 2001, quantification of desiccation sensitivity was performed using the quantal response models developed previously (Dussert et al., 1999
, 2003
) which estimate the water content, WC50, and the water activity, aw50, at which half of the initial viability is lost. The water potential at which half of the initial viability is lost,
50, was calculated from aw50 using the equation
=RTln(aw)/Vw (Pa), with R=8.314, T=298 K, and Vw=18.07x103 l. For the 23 back-crossed genotypes studied in 2001, seed desiccation sensitivity was also quantified by a new parameter, Survival45%RH, which corresponded to the percentage of seeds developing into normal seedlings after equilibration in a 45% relative humidity atmosphere divided by Vfresh. Survival45%RH was also used to quantify seed desiccation sensitivity in the 58 BCs studied in 2002.
| Results |
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Inheritance of the level of seed desiccation tolerance in F1 hybrids
For each of the 44 genotypes studied in 2001, whatever the variable used for describing seed hydration level (water content or water activity), the relationship between seed hydration level and their viability followed the typical sigmoidal pattern expected (Fig. 1). In all cases, the proportion of variance explained by the model was very high (mean, minimum, and maximum values of R2 were 0.98, 0.92, and 0.99, respectively).
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Seeds of the seven C. pseudozanguebariae genotypes exhibited a very high level of tolerance to desiccation, since the mean values of WC50 and aw50 were 0.055 g H2O g1 DW and 0.135, respectively (Fig. 2). The level of seed desiccation sensitivity observed in the seven genotypes of C. liberica was significantly higher (P<0.0002) with mean values of WC50 and aw50 of 0.113 g H2O g1 DW and 0.413, respectively. In both parental species, the standard deviation observed for the level of seed desiccation tolerance was very low, indicating a very low intraspecific diversity for this trait.
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Whatever the parameter used, WC50 or aw50, the level of seed desiccation tolerance in F1 hybrids was significantly different (P<0.0003) from those of the parental species and corresponded with that of the mid-parent, i.e. the mean of the values observed in the two parental species (Fig. 2). The linear regression performed using values of the 21 genotypes of C. pseudozanguebariae, C. liberica, and the F1 hybrids studied was highly significant (r=0.95; P=0.0000) for both variables. These results showed an additive inheritance of seed desiccation tolerance at the F1 level.
Variation of the level of seed desiccation tolerance in second-generation hybrids
A large variation was observed within the 23 BCs studied in 2001 for the level of desiccation tolerance of their seeds, independent of the parameter used to quantify it (Fig. 3). WC50 ranged between 0.086 and 0.145 g H2O g1 DW, thus from values observed in F1 hybrids up to values considerably higher than those found in C. liberica. The same phenomenon was observed for aw50 with values ranging between 0.25 and 0.60. Therefore, BCs showed transgression in the direction of the most desiccation-sensitive parent.
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Because of the wide range of values observed in BCs, the number (23) of genotypes studied in 2001 appeared to be too low to determine whether desiccation tolerance followed a monomodal or a plurimodal distribution. A larger population of BCs was thus employed in 2002. A simplified method was developed to measure seed desiccation tolerance in such a large population. All correlations between either WC50 or aw50 and the viability percentages (expressed in percentage of the control, Vfresh) obtained with the different RHs used were tested. The best correlation was obtained with 45% RH, a result that was expected since the mean value for aw50 in the 23 BCs studied in 2001 was about 0.45. The correlation between Survival45%RH and either WC50 or aw50 was highly significant and Survival45%RH thus constituted a very accurate simplified estimator of the level of seed desiccation tolerance in BCs (Fig. 4).
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Survival45%RH was measured in 2002 in 58 BCs. Again a very large variation for seed desiccation tolerance was observed in BCs (Fig. 5). Survival45%RH ranged from 7.6100%. Transgression in the direction of the most sensitive parent was confirmed, since more than half of the BCs showed a desiccation tolerance lower than C. liberica genotypes. The variation for desiccation tolerance was continuous in BCs, i.e. no discrete levels could be identified.
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Correlation between levels of desiccation tolerance observed in 2001 and 2002
Among all BCs studied in 2002, 14 were also evaluated for the level of desiccation tolerance of their seeds in 2001. Within these 14 genotypes, a significant correlation was observed between Survival45%RH data obtained in 2002 and WC50 (r=0.69, P=0.0065) and aw50 (r=0.62, P=0.0241) values estimated in 2001.
Testing the hypothesis of a maternal cytoplasmic effect on seed desiccation tolerance
Whatever the variable used for quantifying desiccation tolerance, WC50 and aw50 for the genotypes studied in 2001 and Survival45%RH for those analysed in 2002, no significant difference was observed between the two reciprocal backcrosses, F1xC. liberica and C. libericaxF1, for the level of desiccation tolerance of their seeds (Table 2). This result shows the absence of a maternal cytoplasmic effect on the level of seed desiccation tolerance.
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Influence of initial seed viability and water content, seed size, and tree fertility on the level of desiccation tolerance
There was no significant (P>0.05) effect of the number of seeds harvested from each genotype studied in 2002 on the level of desiccation tolerance of its seeds (Table 3). This result precludes any bias in the measurement of desiccation tolerance caused by differences in fertility of BCs. Moreover, there was no significant (P>0.05) correlation between seed viability and water content before desiccation (upon receipt in the laboratory) and desiccation tolerance. Thus, post-harvest environmental factors did not greatly influence the trait studied. Seed size, as estimated by seed dry weight, was not significantly (P>0.05) correlated to desiccation tolerance. This result suggests that the initial desiccation rate (during the first week of equilibration) did not influence significantly the estimation of the level of desiccation tolerance.
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| Discussion |
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The present study provides valuable and original information on the nature of seed desiccation tolerance in coffee species by using a cross between two coffee species showing a large difference in the level of seed desiccation tolerance and a very low intraspecific variability for this trait. To the authors' knowledge, it is the first time that a genetic approach has been used to study seed desiccation tolerance in non-orthodox seed species. This study clearly shows the quantitative nature of desiccation tolerance in seeds belonging to this category of storage behaviour. When the level of desiccation tolerance is expressed in terms of water potential, the additivity observed in F1 hybrids (178 MPa, equivalent to mid-parent) and the large segregation in BCs (189 to 68 MPa) are not consistent with the hypothesis of the existence of discrete levels of seed desiccation tolerance within the intermediate category (Sun and Liang, 2001
The occurrence of transgressive segregation in second-generation hybrids, independent of the variable used for quantifying desiccation tolerance, WC50, aw50 or Survival45%RH, provides useful information on its genetic determinism in coffee species. It shows firstly that it is a polygenic trait, a fact which is in agreement with the common understanding that seed desiccation tolerance is a multi-factorial trait (see Buitink et al., 2002
, for a review). Secondly, it shows that C. pseudozanguebariae does not present the most favourable alleles (i.e. that increase tolerance) for all the genes involved in seed desiccation tolerance, since some BCs displayed combinations of alleles less favourable than the most desiccation-sensitive parent, C. liberica. This result may explain why no significant correlation was found between seed sucrose content alone and desiccation tolerance in coffee species (Chabrillange et al., 2000
). Seed sucrose content is higher in C. pseudozanguebariae than in C. liberica (Ky et al., 2000b
; Chabrillange et al., 2000
). Using the crosses employed in the present study, Ky et al. (2000b)
showed that seed sucrose content exhibited an additive inheritance both in F1 hybrids and in genotypes backcrossed to C. liberica. Therefore, it can be speculated that genes for which C. pseudozanguebariae present unfavourable alleles are not those controlling seed sucrose content.
In addition to demonstrating that the studied BCs segregated for desiccation tolerance, this study also rules out different potential drawbacks for support of a candidate gene approach of desiccation tolerance. Firstly, it established the absence of any maternal cytoplasmic effect on this trait. Secondly, the influence of BC fertility and initial seed viability and water content on desiccation tolerance was shown to be non-significant.
From a technological standpoint, it was difficult to evaluate a large number of BCs during the same year using the method previously developed for quantifying seed desiccation tolerance (Dussert et al., 1999
) for the following reasons: (i) evaluation cannot be delayed after harvest; (ii) seed maturity among BCs is reached within a very short period of time; and (iii) some BCs showed low fertility and produced fewer seeds than requested. Therefore, the simplified method developed in the present study for estimating seed desiccation tolerance in BCs represents a significant methodological advance, since an accurate estimate was achieved using a reduced number of seeds. This method should be easily adaptable to any population of second-generation hybrids segregating for this trait by choosing an equilibration RH close to the median aw50 value of the studied population. This simplified method is currently being used for mapping QTLs controlling seed desiccation tolerance in a large population of C. pseudozanguebariaexC. liberica BCs.
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