PNL Volume 14

1982

RESEARCH REPORTS

A SURVEY OF THE EFFECT OF GENETICS AND TEMPERATURE OF GERMINATION ON

LENGTHS OF THE FIRST AND SECOND INTERNODES OF ETIOLATED PEA SEEDLINGS

Seguin, S. and C. Nozzolillo Department of Biology

University of Ottawa, Canada

Germinating seeds of Pisum sativum buried at varying depths in the

soil will elongate until they reach the surface. Light is the impor-

tant factor influencing elongation. In fact, if no light reaches the

seedling, it will elongate until all food reserves in the cotyledons are

utilized or even cease before complete depletion has occurred (1). This

phenomenon, etiolation, is characterized by a very rapid stem elongation

and by the suppression of leaf expansion (2). A survey of 34

Weibullsholm lines* was made to assess the extent to which genetic dif-

ferences might affect etiolation.

The experimental procedure was as follows: The seeds were

surface-sterilized with a 20% solution of sodium hypochlorite (Javex)

for 5 minutes, then rinsed well. Following imbibition in distilled

water for 24 hrs in darkness at 15±1 C, the seeds were placed on a shal-

low layer of heat-pasteurized, moistened sand in aluminium soil moisture

cans (diam 9.0 cm). Each can was covered with a 48-oz Juice can (diam

10.5 cm. ht 17.5 cm) to prevent light penetration, and put in a

temperature-controlled (15±1 C) growth chamber. After two weeks,

seedling development was checked using a dim green safety light [a small

amount of green light has no significant effect on the growth of

dark-grown seedlings (1)]. Those with fully developed first and second

nodes were removed and measured. All. others were allowed to continue

their development and were checked each following week until all the

germinated seedlings had reached the appropriate stage of development.

The effects of temperature on etiolation were examined with two of

the Weibullsholm lines (WL-1451, WL-267) chosen because of the dif-

ferences shown in their internodal lengths at 15 C and their fairly high

germination percentage. The experiments (imbibition and growth) were

done in growth chambers where the temperature was maintained at 5, 10,

20, 25, and 30 C respectively.

The results of the survey, expressed as mean value + standard

deviation, are summarized in Table 1. There was wide variation among

lines, and lengths bear little or no relationship to whether the lines

were "dwarf" or "tall" when grown in light. Some lines (eg. 58, 369,

1088, 1267, 1366, 1391 , 1508) had very short internodes while others

(eg. 1415, 1416, 1451 , 1467, 1570, 1754) had much longer internodes.

The relationship between the first and second internode varied also. The

two were almost the same length In some lines (eg. 58, 1570); in others

they were very different. For example, lines 5 and 1227 had a longer

first internode while in lines 1415, 1416, 1545, and 1614 the second in-

ternode was longer.

�Courtesy of S. Blixt.

PNL Volume 14

1982

RESEARCH REPORTS

Line 1267 and line 1451 were submitted to the temperature

experiments. The seeds germinated at 5 C, but growth was so slow that

the experiment at this temperature was abandoned after 3 weeks. There

was a significant difference between the internodal length of groups at

different temperatures. The internodal lengths of both lines are sum-

marized in Tables 2 and 3. These values were plotted on graphs of the

internodal length versus temperature (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2). A minimum

length occurred at 15 C for line 1267 for both the first internoge and

the second internode. For line 1451. the minimum was found at 20 C and

the values (45, 4 5) were higher than the minimal values of line 1267

(21, 26).

1. Low, V.H.K. 1971. Effects of light and darkness on the growth of

peas. Aust. J. Biol. Sci. 24:187-195.

2. McComb, A. J. 1977. Control of root and shoot development. In: The

Physiology of the Garden Pea. Eds. J. F. Sutcliffe and J. S. Pate.

Academic Press, New York, 2 35-26 3.



	PNL Volume 14 1982	RESEARCH REPORTS 61



	xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x Editor's Note: Information in the "Status of the Le locus" column x in Table 1 was inserted by the Editor without first consulting x the authors. The information was extracted from "A presentation x of the Lamprechtian Pisum material" (Second, revised and extended x edition); Edited by S. Blixt; Weibullsholm Plant Breeding Insti- x tution, Sweden; Report from the Institute, November 1964. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>



	PNL Volume 14 1982	RESEARCH REPORTS



	Fig. 1. Effect of the temperature on the first internodal length in two different lines of pea; vertical bars represent the standard deviation.



	Fig. 2. Effect of the temperature on the second internodal length in two different lines of pea; vertical bars represent the standard deviation.