TY  - EJOU
AU  - Li, Xinghuan 
AU  - Hao, Binxi 
AU  - Cheng, Shimin 
AU  - Zhang, Ju 
AU  - Song, Yuan 

TI  - Metabolic Profile Analysis and Key Metabolic Pathways Identification in Different Embryo Parts Regulating Dormancy and Germination in <i>Pinus koraiensis</i>
T2  - Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany

PY  - 2025
VL  - 94
IS  - 8
SN  - 1851-5657

AB  - <i>Pinus koraiensis</i> is the dominant and constructive species of the zonal vegetation in Northeast China, known as the mixed broadleaf-Korean pine forest. Although carbohydrate metabolism pathways in the seed embryo are known to play crucial roles during seed dormancy and germination in <i>P</i>. <i>koraiensis</i>, it remains unclear whether these metabolic pathways function differentially across tissues. <i>P</i>. <i>koraiensis</i> seeds that had undergone different durations of moist chilling in their natural environment, yielding seeds with relatively deeper primary physiological dormancy (DDS) and seeds with released primary physiological dormancy (RDS). A non-targeted metabolomic analysis was conducted on the radicle and hypocotyl-cotyledon portions of both DDS and RDS, before and after a two-week incubation under favorable conditions. Under germination conditions, RDS and DDS showed divergent metabolic profiles, especially regarding carbohydrate metabolism. Specifically, RDS seeds showed significantly reduced substrates of respiratory metabolic pathways in both radicles and hypocotyl-cotyledons. Conversely, the intermediates of the carbohydrate metabolism pathway (particularly the tricarboxylic acid cycle) accumulating in radicles of DDS seeds under germination conditions. Moreover, in RDS, the carbohydrate metabolic pathways were more prevalent in the hypocotyl-cotyledon, while lysine degradation and ascorbate and aldarate metabolism were the dominant metabolic pathways in radicles. In contrast, the tricarboxylic acid cycle showed higher activity in DDS radicles compared to hypocotyl-cotyledons. We further demonstrated that carbohydrate metabolic pathways continue to play a dominant role in both dormancy maintenance and germination processes of <i>P</i>. <i>koraiensis</i> seeds. Notably, the carbohydrate metabolism in radicles likely exerts more critical regulatory functions in these two physiological processes compared to that in cotyledon and hypocotyl tissues.
KW  - Seed germination; seed dormancy; metabolism; radicle; hypocotyl-cotyledon; <i>Pinus koraiensis</i>

DO  - 10.32604/phyton.2025.067104