@article{ChmielewskiBaldermannGoetzetal.2018, author = {Chmielewski, Frank M. and Baldermann, Susanne and G{\"o}tz, Klaus Peter and Homann, Thomas and G{\"o}deke, Kristin and Schumacher, Fabian and Huschek, Gerd and Rawel, Harshadrai Manilal}, title = {Abscisic acid related metabolites in sweet cherry buds (Prunus avium L.)}, series = {Journal of Horticulture}, volume = {5}, journal = {Journal of Horticulture}, number = {1}, issn = {2376-0354}, doi = {10.4172/2376-0354.1000221}, pages = {221}, year = {2018}, abstract = {As our climate changes, plant mechanisms involved for dormancy release become increasingly important for commercial orchards. It is generally believed that abscisic acid (ABA) is a key hormone that responds to various environmental stresses which affects bud dormancy. For this reason, a multi-year study was initiated to obtain data on plant metabolites during winter rest and ontogenetic development in sweet cherry buds (Prunus avium L.). In this paper, we report on metabolites involved in ABA synthesis and catabolism and its effect on bud dormancy in the years 2014/15-2016/17. In previous work, the timings of the different phases of para-, endo-, ecodormancy and ontogenetic development for cherry flower buds of the cultivar 'Summit' were determined, based on classical climate chamber experiments and changes in the bud's water content. Based on these time phases, we focused now on the different aspects of the ABA-metabolism. The results show that there is a continual synthesis of ABA about 5 weeks before leaf fall, and a degradation of ABA during ecodormancy and bud development until the phenological stage 'open cluster'. This is confirmed by relating the ABA content to that of the total precursor carotenoids, neoxanthin and violaxanthin. The tentative monitoring of individual intermediate metabolites revealed that dihydroxyphaseic acid is the most abundant catabolite of ABA and ABA glucosyl ester is in terms of mass intensity, the most abundant ABA metabolite observed in this study. The results suggest that the direct route for ABA biosynthesis from farnesyl pyrophosphate may also be relevant in cherry flower buds.}, language = {de} } @article{MetzFreundtJeltsch2018, author = {Metz, Johannes and Freundt, Hanna and Jeltsch, Florian}, title = {Stable germination behavior but partly changing seed-seed interactions along a steep rainfall gradient}, series = {Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft f{\"u}r {\"O}kologie}, volume = {28}, journal = {Basic and applied ecology : Journal of the Gesellschaft f{\"u}r {\"O}kologie}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Jena}, issn = {1439-1791}, doi = {10.1016/j.baae.2018.01.004}, pages = {5 -- 16}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Germination marks a critical transition in plant life that is prone to high mortality. Strong selection pressure is therefore expected to finely tune it to environmental conditions. Our study on the common Mediterranean grass Brachypodium hybridum assessed whether germination behavior changes systematically along a steep natural rainfall gradient ranging from harsh desert to rather mild mesic-Mediterranean conditions, We specifically tested hypotheses that germination behavior confers greater risk-spreading in populations from drier, unpredictable environments, and that seeds from wetter populations are better competitors. In 14 populations (spanning 114-954 mm annual rainfall) we assessed three alternative key parameters of germination in a greenhouse experiment: between-year dormancy, days to emergence within a season, and temporal spread. Addition of neighbor seeds accounted for competition as another crucial environmental factor. In six of the 14 populations, we also compared seeds originating from corresponding north (more mesic) and south (more arid) exposed hill slopes to test whether germination patterns along the large-scale rainfall gradient are paralleled at this smaller scale. B. hybridum exhibited generally high germination fractions and rapid emergence with very little temporal spread, indicating overall little risk-spreading germination. Surprisingly, none of the three parameters changed systematically with increasing aridity, neither at large scale along the rainfall gradient nor at small scale between north and south exposures. Neighbor seeds, however, mildly suppressed germination. Germination of neighbor seeds, in turn, was more strongly suppressed by B. hybridum seeds from drier populations, and this effect was stronger for forb than for grass neighbor species. Our results provide strong evidence that increased risk-spreading germination is not a universal, essential strategy to persist in increasingly dry, unpredictable environments. They also highlight that competition with neighbors occurs even at the earliest plant life stage. Since neighbor effects were species-specific, competition among seeds can affect community composition at later plant stages.}, language = {en} }