Seed diversity

Aniszewski, T., Kupari, M. H. and Leinonen, A. J. 2001. Seed number, seed size and seed diversity in the Washington lupine Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl.) Annals of Botany, 87 77-82. 

The classic seed burial studies of W. J. Beal and his successors have shown seeds of at least one weed species, Moth Mullein (Verbascum blattaria L.) can remain viable in soil for a peiod of 100 years, whereas three species continued to germinate after 80 years of burial (30). Weed seeds not only resist decay by soil microbes, but they vary in dormancy characteristics. There is considerable evidence that chemical inhibitors are responsible for both phenomena. Unsaturated lactones and phenolic compounds in particular, are potent antimicrobial compounds present in many seeds (4J. Fruits and seeds are also known to contain diverse germination inhibitors including phenolic compounds, flavonoids and/or their glycosides and tannins. Unique methods to destroy inhibitors could provide an excellent weed management strategy. 

The interstellar medium is thus a chemically diverse medium fed nearly all of the chemical elements by supernova explosions. Conditions in the interstellar medium produce a cocktail of molecules that ultimately find themselves back on the surface of planets during the formation of the new star and solar system. Does the interstellar medium seed life with molecules from space The nature of interstellar medium chemistry might then add credibility to the formation of life in many places within the Universe and act as a panspermia model for the origins of life. 

The analysis of the laboratory ice experiments reveals a diverse array of bio-logical-looking molecules with the potential to seed life. Cometary collisions with planets could deliver these molecules to a primitive Earth or indeed to all planets within the solar system. The frequency of the collisions depends somewhat on the local star and the structure of the solar system forming around it. 

Vacuoles (70-78) are membrane-bound regions of the cell filled with cell sap. Vacuoles are surrounded by a tonoplast (vacuolar membranes) and are diverse with distinct functions. Most investigators believe that lysosomes and the plant vacuoles are the same. Vacuoles develop turgor pressure and maintain tissue rigidity. They are storage components for various metabolites such as reserve proteins in seeds and malic acid in crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants. Vacuoles canremove toxic secondary products and are the sites of pigment deposition. 

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