A sticky future? Characterising Myxospermous Seeds Ashley Gorman
Dr Blair McKenzie, Dr Cathy Hawes, Professor John Rowan CECHR Annual Symposium – 22nd February 2017 @AshG_SeedSoil #Myxospermy
Myxospermy
Mucilage Release Non-Adherent
• Secretion of mucilage which anchors seed to soil • Mechanism disregards viability • Composition:
Adherent
• Outer layer (o)
R
• Pectin = soluble
• Inner layer (i)
M
• Cellulose fibres = insoluble
• Chemical composition is uncharacterised for many species
M
Columella 0.2 mm
Mucilage (M), Rays (R)
Capsella bursa-pastoris (Deng, 2012)
Mucilage Extraction Water Dispersion
Removed Pectin (Outer Layer)
Before
Enzyme Digestion
Removed Cellulose (Inner Layer)
Mucilage % of Total Seed Weight
Outer Pectin Inner Cellulose
32 28 24 20 16 12 8 4 0 S. vulgaris
C. bursa-pastoris
V. arvensis
U. urens
A. thaliana
P. lanceolata
How can we relate seed-soil interactions to what we see in the field? • Mucilage production, composition + structure • Underlying mechanism at aggregate scale • “zone of influence” • Predict soil export flux and soil security
Why?
Mid-Pilmore Experimental Site The James Hutton Institute December 2015, “Storm Desmond” Copyright Tracey Dixon
Conclusions Exploring underlying mucilage mechanism and interactions within soil Can we manipulate this mechanism to retain soil structure in erosive environments? Thanks to… • Dr Blair McKenzie, Dr Cathy Hawes, Prof John Rowan • Tracy Valentine, Linda Ford, Sandra Caul, Pete Iannetta