Fiyinfoluwa Kolawole

BIOL 0211- Biostatistics

Professor Sam Byrne

Lab Report 2: Seed Germination

Introduction

Seeds are fertilized and mature ovules— the result of sexual reproduction in plants.
Although not all plants produce seeds, the ones that do evidence the immense
biological importance as seed of these embryonic plant structures which allow plants to
proliferate by replicating themselves over successive seasons and years. Structurally,
seeds comprise an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer coating, along with
food reserves containing high protein, starch and oil reserves that facilitate the early
stages of growth and development in a plant.

Figure 1. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) seeds

Certain conditions must be conducive and correct for seeds to germinate. As a group,
we investigated two environmental conditions affecting seed germination: salinity and
temperature of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) seeds.

Generally, high levels of soil salinity hampers seed germination because low osmotic
potential is created around the seed, preventing water uptake (Welbaum et al., 1990).
Furthermore, the absorption of or exposure to excess Na+ and Cl− ions from induces
ionic stress and causes toxicity which are contributing factors to the disruption of
biochemical processes including nucleic and protein metabolism, energy production,
and respiration (Mwando et al.). High salinity has also been linked to nutrient and
hormonal imbalances in seed which deleteriously affects seed germination. For these
reasons we hypothesized that increasing levels of salinity would inhibit seed
germination or extend germination time. We expect to see more (numerically) seed
germination in the seeds grown in water, less germination in the seeds kept in 1% salt
w/v, and even less in 2% salt w/v.

Temperature is another primary factor affecting the percentage and speed of seed
germination, which directly works via seed imbibition and the biochemical reactions that
regulate the metabolism involved in the germination process. Temperature is a crucial
factor that affects seed germination, and its effects vary depending on the species of the
seed. Generally, seeds have an optimal temperature range for germination, which is
determined by their genetic makeup and environmental adaptation. If the temperature is
too low or too high, it can cause delayed germination or even inhibit it entirely. Some
seeds require a cold period, known as stratification, before they can germinate, while
others require warm temperatures. Furthermore, temperature fluctuations can also
impact seed germination, causing inconsistent or uneven germination rates.
Temperature plays a significant role in seed germination and must be carefully
controlled and monitored to ensure optimal conditions for successful plant growth. We
hypothesize that a linear relationship exists between germination and temperature such
that the seeds would germinate in warmer places than colder conditions.

Methods

Experimental:
Salinity experiment:
We utilized 3 Petri dishes and designated one as a control (containng DI water)
with the other two dishes corresponding to, 1% salinity, and 2% salinity. Each
Petri dish was covered with a napkin on its bottom, and 10 seeds were added to
each dish. Finally, solvents were added based on their respective labels. The DI
water dish received DI water solvent, while the 1% and 2% salinity dishes
received 1% and 2% salinity solvents, respectively.

Temperature experiment:
For the subsequent experiment aimed at examining the influence of temperature
on seed germination, the same process was repeated. The seeds were added to
3 Petri dishes as before, but this time they were designated as room temperature
(control), hot, and cold. The dishes were then placed in environments that
matched their labels, with the hot dish situated in a location above 60 degrees
Celsius, and the cold dish kept at a temperature lower than room temperature.

Statistical:
For both experiments (salinity and temperature), we analyzed our results using
Fisher's Exact Test. We chose a Fischer;s Exact test over a chi-squared test
because the latter is an approximation assuming the sample is large, while the
Fisher's exact test runs an exact procedure especially for small-sized samples.

Results
 Treatment Group Germinated Non-germinated Count

Distilled Water(Control? 10 0 10
group)

1% Salinity 2 8 10

2% Salinity 0 10 10

Count 12 18 10
Figure 1| Table showing the number of alfalfa seeds that germinated for the control and
the 2 salinity experimental groups

The result of Fisher's exact test was performed with a null hypothesis that there is no
association between the two variables (treatment group and germination) in the table,
and the alternative hypothesis is that there is an association. The test’s p-value
3.122e-06 is considerably less than 0.05, indicating that there is a significant
association between the variables. As a result, the null hypothesis can be rejected, and
it can be concluded that there is a significant difference in germination rates among the
different salt concentrations (group). The rather small p-value suggests that the
probability of observing such a large association between the variables under the null
hypothesis is very low, indicating that the association between the variables is likely not
a product of chance.

Treatment Group Germinated Non-germinated Count

Room temperature(Control? 10 0 10
group)

Hot 2 8 10

Cold 0 10 10

Count 12 18 10
Figure 2| Table showing the number of alfalfa seeds that germinated for the control and
the temperature experimental groups.

The result of Fisher's exact test was performed with a null hypothesis that there is no
association between the two variables (treatment group and germination) in the table,
and the alternative hypothesis is that there is an association. The test’s p-value
9.985e-08 is considerably less than 0.05, indicating that there is a significant
association between the variables. Consequently, the null hypothesis can be rejected,
and it can be concluded that there is a significant difference in germination rates among
the different salt concentrations (group). The rather small p-value suggests that the
probability of observing such a large association between the variables under the null
hypothesis is very low, indicating that the association between the variables is likely not
a product of chance.

Conclusion

The experiments involved testing the effects of salt concentration and temperature on
seed germination. Fisher's exact test was used to analyze the data and determine
whether there was a significant difference in germination rates between the control
group and the experimental groups in each experiment.

The p-values obtained from Fisher's exact tests were smaller than 0.05 in both
experiments indicating a significant difference between the observed germination rates
caused by different treatment groups. Based on the results of the experiments, it can be
inferred that the best conditions for seed germination involve planting seeds in optimal
temperatures, such as room temperature, and using a lower salinity level than the 1%
concentration used in this experiment. Therefore, if one wants to optimize the chances
of seed germination, they should consider planting seeds in a medium with a lower salt
concentration and at room temperature. We should not generalize these results
however, as the specified conditions may be only optimal for alfalfa seeds. Notably,
other seeds may have other optimal salinity and temperatures conducive to their
germination.

Bibliography

Mwando, E. et al. (2020) “Genome-wide association study of salinity tolerance during

germination in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.),” Frontiers in Plant Science, 11. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00118.

Welbaum, G.E., Tissaoui, T. and Bradford, K.J. (1990) “Water relations of seed
development and germination in muskmelon (cucumis melo L.),” Plant Physiology,
92(4), pp. 1029–1037. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.92.4.1029.