Seed dormancy cycling: A driver of germination timing in a facultative winter annual

doi:10.1016/j.pld.2025.05.007

Plant Diversity ›› 2026, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (03): 618-628.DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2025.05.007

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Seed dormancy cycling: A driver of germination timing in a facultative winter annual

Jingshi Yang^a, Yan Luo^a, Jerry M. Baskin^b, Carol C. Baskin^b,c, Andreas Prinzing^d, Luping Liu^a, Chaohan Xu^a, Keliang Zhang^a

a College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China;
b Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA;
c Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA;
d Research Unit "Ecosystem, Biodiversity, Evolution", Université de Rennes 1/Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Campus de Beaulieu, Bâtiment 14A, Rennes 35042, France

Received:2025-03-09 Revised:2025-05-09 Online:2026-06-10 Published:2026-05-25
Contact: Keliang Zhang,E-mail:zhangkeliang@yzu.edu.cn
Supported by:
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 32471591), and the Jiangsu Provincial Agricultural Science and Technology Independent Innovation Fund Project (CX(23)1039).

Seed dormancy cycling: A driver of germination timing in a facultative winter annual

Jingshi Yang^a, Yan Luo^a, Jerry M. Baskin^b, Carol C. Baskin^b,c, Andreas Prinzing^d, Luping Liu^a, Chaohan Xu^a, Keliang Zhang^a

a College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China;
b Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA;
c Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA;
d Research Unit "Ecosystem, Biodiversity, Evolution", Université de Rennes 1/Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Campus de Beaulieu, Bâtiment 14A, Rennes 35042, France

通讯作者: Keliang Zhang,E-mail:zhangkeliang@yzu.edu.cn
基金资助:
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 32471591), and the Jiangsu Provincial Agricultural Science and Technology Independent Innovation Fund Project (CX(23)1039).

Abstract

Abstract: Timing of seed germination is critical for survival of annual plants in seasonal climates. We tested the hypothesis that seeds of the winter annual species Cardamine impatiens (Brassicaceae) “track” their thermal environment and synchronize germination with favorable growth conditions. We predicted that seeds buried in the field from maturity to autumn germinate best at autumn temperatures, while those buried from maturity to spring germinate best in early spring. We monitored seasonal changes in germinability by exhuming field-buried seeds monthly for 30 months and incubating them under laboratory conditions. The effects of temperature on the transition of dormancy status also were investigated. Seeds of C. impatiens were dormant at dispersal in May, and during summer dormancy transitioned to conditional dormancy and then to non-dormancy. By early autumn, seeds germinated in a wide range of temperature regimes in light. Nongerminated seeds re-entered conditional dormancy during winter, losing the ability to germinate at high, but not low, temperatures in light. The light requirement for germination was reduced during prolonged seed burial. Overall, our hypothesis is supported. Buried seeds of C. impatiens exhibited a seasonally synchronized conditional dormancy/non-dormancy cycle, enabling germination in both autumn and early spring; this information will facilitate management efforts of this weedy species. We conclude that dormancy cycling in C. impatiens is an adaptive functional trait that controls the timing of germination, thereby optimizing seedling emergence under favorable conditions while avoiding summer heat.

Key words: Brassicaceae, Cardamine impatiens, Conditional dormancy, Dormancy cycling, Light-dependent germination

摘要： Timing of seed germination is critical for survival of annual plants in seasonal climates. We tested the hypothesis that seeds of the winter annual species Cardamine impatiens (Brassicaceae) “track” their thermal environment and synchronize germination with favorable growth conditions. We predicted that seeds buried in the field from maturity to autumn germinate best at autumn temperatures, while those buried from maturity to spring germinate best in early spring. We monitored seasonal changes in germinability by exhuming field-buried seeds monthly for 30 months and incubating them under laboratory conditions. The effects of temperature on the transition of dormancy status also were investigated. Seeds of C. impatiens were dormant at dispersal in May, and during summer dormancy transitioned to conditional dormancy and then to non-dormancy. By early autumn, seeds germinated in a wide range of temperature regimes in light. Nongerminated seeds re-entered conditional dormancy during winter, losing the ability to germinate at high, but not low, temperatures in light. The light requirement for germination was reduced during prolonged seed burial. Overall, our hypothesis is supported. Buried seeds of C. impatiens exhibited a seasonally synchronized conditional dormancy/non-dormancy cycle, enabling germination in both autumn and early spring; this information will facilitate management efforts of this weedy species. We conclude that dormancy cycling in C. impatiens is an adaptive functional trait that controls the timing of germination, thereby optimizing seedling emergence under favorable conditions while avoiding summer heat.

关键词: Brassicaceae, Cardamine impatiens, Conditional dormancy, Dormancy cycling, Light-dependent germination

Jingshi Yang, Yan Luo, Jerry M. Baskin, Carol C. Baskin, Andreas Prinzing, Luping Liu, Chaohan Xu, Keliang Zhang. Seed dormancy cycling: A driver of germination timing in a facultative winter annual[J]. Plant Diversity, 2026, 48(03): 618-628.

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Seed dormancy cycling: A driver of germination timing in a facultative winter annual

Seed dormancy cycling: A driver of germination timing in a facultative winter annual

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