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Growth and Development of Ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana: Preliminary Experiments to Prepare for a Moon Lander Mission

Tatsiana Shymanovich
Tatsiana Shymanovich
 and 
John Z. Kiss
John Z. Kiss
   | May 26, 2020
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Article Category: Research Note
Published Online: May 26, 2020
Page range: 18 - 24
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gsr-2020-0002
Keywords
© 2020 Tatsiana Shymanovich et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1

Studies of seed germination of various ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana from different latitudes. Ecotypes are listed from north (63°N) to south (16°N) at the bottom of each plot. Seeds were incubated at the indicated temperatures in continuous illumination, and seed germination was assayed at days 3–10 after the start of the experiment. Note that the Col-0 ecotype had the highest germination under all conditions studied and nearly 100% in the temperature range of 11–30 °C. The sample sizes are provided in Table 2.
Studies of seed germination of various ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana from different latitudes. Ecotypes are listed from north (63°N) to south (16°N) at the bottom of each plot. Seeds were incubated at the indicated temperatures in continuous illumination, and seed germination was assayed at days 3–10 after the start of the experiment. Note that the Col-0 ecotype had the highest germination under all conditions studied and nearly 100% in the temperature range of 11–30 °C. The sample sizes are provided in Table 2.

Figure 2

Leaf development assayed by the (A) number of leaves and (B) total area of the leaves in the seedlings at the indicated temperatures in continuous illumination. In terms of the number of leaves (A), the Col-0 ecotype had the greatest number of leaves for all temperatures tested. As indicated by leaf area (B), Col-0 had the largest area when the data were taken together from 11 to 25 °C while the Mt ecotype was an overall second in this latter criterion. The sample sizes are provided in Table 2. Bars indicate SE.
Leaf development assayed by the (A) number of leaves and (B) total area of the leaves in the seedlings at the indicated temperatures in continuous illumination. In terms of the number of leaves (A), the Col-0 ecotype had the greatest number of leaves for all temperatures tested. As indicated by leaf area (B), Col-0 had the largest area when the data were taken together from 11 to 25 °C while the Mt ecotype was an overall second in this latter criterion. The sample sizes are provided in Table 2. Bars indicate SE.

Figure 3

Root development as determined by the (A) main root length, (B) number of secondary roots, and (C) length of the total root network of the seedlings at the indicated temperatures in continuous illumination. Based on these criteria, Col-0 exhibited the most robust growth from 11 to 25 °C. The sample sizes are provided in Table 2. Bars indicate SE.
Root development as determined by the (A) main root length, (B) number of secondary roots, and (C) length of the total root network of the seedlings at the indicated temperatures in continuous illumination. Based on these criteria, Col-0 exhibited the most robust growth from 11 to 25 °C. The sample sizes are provided in Table 2. Bars indicate SE.

Figure 4

Images of seedlings of the Col-0 ecotype of Arabidopsis thaliana after 10 days at 11, 15, 25, 30, and 35 °C. While there was good growth at 11 °C, the most robust plants were at incubation at 15–25 °C, and plants at these temperatures had a very extensive secondary root system. There was minimal growth at 30 °C and limited germination at 35 °C. Overall, this ecotype had the most robust growth at a wide temperature range. Note that in some images, there were reflections from the plastic Petri dishes. The large units on the scale reference are in centimeters.
Images of seedlings of the Col-0 ecotype of Arabidopsis thaliana after 10 days at 11, 15, 25, 30, and 35 °C. While there was good growth at 11 °C, the most robust plants were at incubation at 15–25 °C, and plants at these temperatures had a very extensive secondary root system. There was minimal growth at 30 °C and limited germination at 35 °C. Overall, this ecotype had the most robust growth at a wide temperature range. Note that in some images, there were reflections from the plastic Petri dishes. The large units on the scale reference are in centimeters.

Figure 5

Images of seedlings of the Mt ecotype of Arabidopsis thaliana after 10 days at 11, 15, 25, 30, and 30 °C. This ecotype was the second-best in overall growth characteristics and did particularly well at 25 °C. There was minimal growth at 30 °C and no germination or growth at 35 °C. Note that in some images, there were reflections from the plastic Petri dishes. The large units on the scale reference are in centimeters.
Images of seedlings of the Mt ecotype of Arabidopsis thaliana after 10 days at 11, 15, 25, 30, and 30 °C. This ecotype was the second-best in overall growth characteristics and did particularly well at 25 °C. There was minimal growth at 30 °C and no germination or growth at 35 °C. Note that in some images, there were reflections from the plastic Petri dishes. The large units on the scale reference are in centimeters.

Key characteristics of the seed stocks of the nine ecotypes used in these studies.

NameCodeLatitudeAltitude (m)Mean temperature (°C) Spring/FallOriginSourceStock #
TenelaTe-0N63°1–1000–2/7–8FinlandABRCCS1550
SwedenSWN62°NANASwedenMSU**
OsthammarOst-1N61°1–1000–2/5–6SwedenABRCCS1430
ColumbiaCol-0N52°1–10015–16/21–22PolandMSU**
DresdenDr-0N51°100–2007–8/9–10GermanyABRCCS1114
ItalyITN42°NANAItalyMSU**
CoimbraCo-2N40°100–20011–12/17–18PortugalABRCCS1086
MartubaMt-0N28°100–20015–16/15–16LibyaABRCCS22642
Cape Verde IsCvi-0N16°1200NACape VerdeABRCCS8580

Number of seedlings grown from each ecotype and used for the temperature experiments.

Seed codeGrowth temperature
11 °C15 °C25 °C30 °C35 °C
Te-0nt3624nt37
SW4836364836
Ost-1nt2424nt20
Col-04836364836
Dr-0nt3624nt36
IT4836334837
Co-2nt2724nt24
Mt-02336362536
Cvi-0nt3324nt36
eISSN:
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Language:
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Publication timeframe:
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Journal Subjects:
Life Sciences, other, Materials Sciences, Physics
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