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Seed Coat Pigment Variation and UV Stress Tolerance in Lupinus perennis

Meek, Haley
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1542386060563396

Abstract Details

2018, Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, Biological Sciences.
The presence of polymorphic seed colors in plant species of the Fabaceae (legume) family has been attributed to several factors including genetics and the environment. These colors are determined primarily by the relative amounts of anthocyanin pigments present in the seed coat. Anthocyanins play significant roles in seed dispersal and tolerance to environmental stressors including ultraviolet (UV) radiation. UV-B radiation can be particularly damaging to plants and anthocyanins are thought to mitigate UV-B damage through absorption and antioxidant characteristics. Lupinus perennis is a perennial, herbaceous plant in which Ohio populations are polymorphic for seed color with seed coats ranging from completely white seed coats to varying amounts of brown/black speckling due to differences in coat biochemistry including anthocyanins. This study aimed to examine growth and leaf color characteristics of different seed color phenotypes in Lupinus perennis in response to UV stress. To determine the effects of seed color and UV on plant growth we grew seeds from two seed phenotypes, white (0-5% speckling) and dark (40-100% speckling) in a common environment with or without UV-B radiation. We hypothesized that seed coat phenotypes are likely to have differences in seedling biochemistry and therefore seedlings from dark seeds will have greater growth than those from white seeds when exposed to UV-B wavelengths. In addition, we used image analysis of digital photographs to examine differences in leaf tissue colors between seed phenotypes and UV treatments to determine differences in leaf pigment content without destructive harvests. We found that contrary to our predictions, white seeds produced larger plants with more leaves and greater total leaf surface areas than those plants grown from dark seeds. Furthermore, we found that plants grown under UV lights were also larger than those grown without UV. Finally, we found that leaf tissues of plants exposed to UV-B wavelengths were more yellow-green in color than those left unexposed. These results have important implications for endangered butterfly habitat restoration and crop breeding in the genus Lupinus and suggest that white seeds may be more desirable for restoration plantings and crop selection in domesticated lupin. Further work is warranted to examine possible differences in fitness and leaf tissue chemistry associated with seed color variation in L. perennis.
Helen Michaels, Dr. (Advisor)
Eric Bishop-von Wettberg, Dr. (Committee Member)
Kevin McCluney, Dr. (Committee Member)
Vipa Phuntamart, Dr. (Committee Member)
56 p.
Biology; Botany; Ecology
Lupinus; UV; Stress

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Meek, H. (2018). Seed Coat Pigment Variation and UV Stress Tolerance in Lupinus perennis [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1542386060563396

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Meek, Haley. Seed Coat Pigment Variation and UV Stress Tolerance in Lupinus perennis. 2018. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1542386060563396.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Meek, Haley. "Seed Coat Pigment Variation and UV Stress Tolerance in Lupinus perennis." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1542386060563396

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1542386060563396
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This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.