The influence of preplant g�ray treatment of maize hybrids on bioisomery of the germs, grown from pairs of adjoining seeds. Electromagnetic mechanism --Maslobrod, SN, Ganea AI, Corlateanu LB, Romanova IM, Lysikov VN It has been shown that from a pair of maize seeds with adjoining germs, reflection symmetric germs predominate (RSG): a left germ (l) grows from one seed of the pair, and a right germ (d) grows from the other seed. The phenomenon depends on the genotype, physiologic state of the components (seeds and germs) of the pair, environmental temperature, and electromagnetic fields. In the previous experiments, a different physiologic state of the components of the pair was achieved by differential swelling (Maslobrod, SN, Shabala, SN, Tretiakov, NN, 1994; Maslobrod, SN, Shabala, SN et al., 1994; Maslobrod, SN, 2001).

The results of experiments where the differences in the state of the seeds of the pair were achieved by g-ray treatment of the seeds are given in this report. Initially, hybrid maize Moldavian 450 seeds were treated with a mutagenic dose (500Gy), which results in a drastic decrease of seed germination capacity and germ growth rate. The seeds were planted in pots filled with loamy black earth. The seeds were kept at 24 C during the daytime and at 20 C during the night. At the 15th day the height of the germs was measured, and their bioisomery was determined. The l germs have the first leaf rolled counter-clockwise, and the d germs have the first leaf rolled clockwise (Maslobrod SN, Shabala SN, Tretiakov NN, 1994). The number of RSG pairs (ld+dl), and the number of pairs with the same sign of bioisomery (ll and dd) were counted. The number of repeats for each variant is no less than 100. The variants of the experiment are: 1) normal single seeds (N), 2) irradiated single seeds (g), 3) a pair of N seeds, with adjoining germs and situated horizontally one after another (NN), 4) similar pair of g seeds (gg), and 5) mixed pair (N g). As appears from Table 1, the height of the germs of the NN pair is significantly above the control (N), which is a result of the interaction of germinating seeds (group effect - Shabala, SN, Maslobrod, SN, 1978; Titov, YV, 1978). In the g g pair stimulation of the germ growth is absent in comparison with the g variant. It is also absent in the N g pair. Thus, N seeds do not affect g seeds in respect to germ growth, probably, because of the high radiation dose. The total number of the germs remains practically unchanged in comparison with the control N, except for the NN variant. Another criterion of pair seed interaction � the number of RSG (ld+dl) has the following pattern. The number of RSG in NN pairs is significantly above the control (i.e. RSG with no interaction of pair seeds, which is 442.5% for the given variant - Maslobrod SN, Shabala SN et al., 1994). The number of RSG in the pure pair g g is slightly decreased, and in the mixed pair Ng it exceeds the level of RSG of the NN pair. Thus, some interaction between N and g seeds in the mixed pairs is observed; it is manifested by the change of germ geometric parameters, and not growth parameters. We had observed the intensification of the reflection symmetry effect earlier, in the case of different physiological activity of the components of the pair (Maslobrod, SN, Shabala, SN, Tretiakov, NN, 1994; Maslobrod, SN, Shabala, SN et al., 1994; Maslobrod, SN, 2001). It is worth noting that in pure and mixed pairs with participation of g irradiated seeds the number of ll pairs increases. Is this a coincidence or a regularity? Is there a new type of interaction of germinating seeds involved? A test experiment on estimating the pattern of ld+dl, ll and dd pair formation from normal seeds, with the germs adjoined at different spatial orientation, horizontal (one after the other) and vertical (one above the other), was carried out. Additional variants with filters were used: plates of organic glass up to 1 mm thickness were placed between the seeds. Thus water-ionic (chemical) communication channel between seeds and communication channel by electric current were excluded, and the communication channel by seed electromagnetic fields was kept (Shabala SN, Maslobrod SN, 1978). The corresponding horizontal variants with no filter (NN), with filter (N|N) and vertical without filter (N) and with filter (N) are given in Table 2.
                                                                                                                                                                                  N                          N

Table 1. Growth and bioisomeric characteristics of maize hybrid Moldavian 450 germs when the seeds were treated with g radiation dose 500 Gy
 
Variant of the experiment Component of the germ pair Germ height, mm Number of l germs, % Number of bioisomeric germ pairs, %
        l d + d l l l d d
N N 84.21.5 64.7      
    46.62.3* 61.1      
N N N 95.62.5* 42.5 55.0 15.0 30.0
    50.63.4* 64.7 52.2 31.8 13.0
N N 79.24.0 66.7 61.0 31.7 7.3
    43.32.7* 61.0      

* Differences from the control at 5% significance level

Table 2. Number of bioisomeric germ pairs of maize hybrid Moldavian 450 when seed pairs where arranged in horizontal and vertical directions with filter and with no filter, %
 
Variant of the experiment l d + d l l l d d
N N 63.6 19.5 16.9
N|N 60.8 26.6 12.6
N
N		 55.4 23.5 21.1
N
N		 61.4 19.6 19.0

A new phenomenon was found: the RSG effect does not depend on the pattern of contacting seeds in horizontal or vertical directions. As can be seen from Table 2, the number of RSG in all variants is significantly above control, i.e. more evidence that the RSG effect appears to be due to the interaction of electromagnetic fields of germinating seeds was obtained. It expands our concept about the types of interactions between seeds and germs with the above-mentioned spatial orientation (Maslobrod SN, 2000). The number of ll and dd pairs is approximately equal, except for the N/N variant. Thus, in the pure pairs of N seeds only one electromagnetic mechanism of RSG formation due to the combination of left-hand helical and right-hand helical fields of the seeds functions. The above-mentioned variants were used for checking up an additional mechanism of ll pair formation in mixed pairs. An object in which the mechanism of RSG formation is absent was chosen, in order to increase the purity of the experiment. Such an object turned out to be maize hybrid Moldavian 291 (in other cases the RSG effect can be observed in this hybrid - Maslobrod, SN, Shabala, SN, Tretiakov, NN, 1994; Maslobrod, SN, Shabala, SN et al., 1994). In our case the number of ld+dl, ll and dd pairs in Moldavian 291 was, correspondingly, in %: 49.2; 25.6 and 25.2. In addition, another seed radiation treatment dose was chosen, the rate of germ growth does not decrease at this dose, and their elimination does not occur (100 Gy). According to Table 3, the number of RSG in all variants of seed pattern was at the control level (442.5%). Thus, the above mentioned mechanism of RSG formation in Moldavian 291 seeds was not detected. At the same time the number of ll pairs is significantly larger than that of dd pairs in case of both direct contact of seeds through the germs and indirect contact through the filter. We tend to think that here an additional mechanism of interaction of germinating seeds, also of an electromagnetic nature, is clearly manifested. This mechanism is absent in the pairs of seeds, the physiological activity of which was achieved by adequate factors, such as natural aging of seeds and different term of their swelling, and is manifested under the action of specific factors, such as radiation. In conclusion, we can note that the formation of the symmetry of two germinating seeds and germs, apparently is carried out by electromagnetic fields, not only of different spiralization signs (left and right), but also of the same signs (left and left). Probably, this is a demonstration of the principle of asymmetry of living and non-living nature (Hehstrom, RA, Condeputy, DK, 1990).

Table 3. Number of bioisomeric germ pairs of maize hybrid M291 when normal and irradiated with 100 Gy seeds were arranged in horizontal and vertical directions with filter and with no filter, %
 
Variant of the experiment l d + d l l l d d
N 45.4 36.4 18.2
N 45.6 31.1 22.8
N 42.2 35.1 22.7
N 43.9 38.5 17.6
N 45.8 34.4 19.8
N 38.1 36.1 25.8
Mm 43.51.2 35.31.0 21.21.3

 
 
 

Please Note: Notes submitted to the Maize Genetics Cooperation Newsletter may be cited only with consent of the authors.

Return to the MNL 76 On-Line Index
Return to the Maize Newsletter Index
Return to the MaizeGDB Homepage