Seed germination is a critical process in the life cycle of higher plants. During germination, the imbibed mature seed is highly sensitive to different environmental factors.However, knowledge about the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying the environmental effects on germination has been lacking. Recent proteomic work has provided invaluable insight into the molecular processes in germinating seeds of Arabidopsis, rice (Oryza sativa), soybean (Glycine max), barley (Hordeum vulgare), maize (Zeamays), tea (Camellia sinensis), European beech (Fagus sylvatica), and Norway maple (Acer platanoides) under different treatments including metal ions (e.g. copper and cadmium), drought, low temperature, hormones, and chemicals (gibberellic acid, abscisic acid, salicylic acid, and α-amanitin), as well as Fusarium graminearum infection. A total of 561 environmental factor-responsive proteins have been identified with various expression patterns in germinating seeds. The data highlight diverse regulatory and metabolic mechanisms upon seed germination, including induction of environmental factor-responsive signaling pathways, seed storage reserve mobilization and utilization, enhancement of DNA repair and modification, regulation of gene expression and protein synthesis, modulation of cell structure, and cell defense. In this review, we summarize the interesting findings and discuss the relevance and significance for our understanding of environmental regulation of seed germination.

Seed-processing technologies such as polishing and washing enhance crop seed quality by limited removal of the outer layers and by leaching. Combined, this removes chemical compounds that inhibit germination. Industrial processing to deliver high-quality commercial seed includes removing chemical inhibitors of germination, and is essential to produce fresh sprouts, achieve vigorous crop establishment, and high yield potential in the field. Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris var. altissima Doell.), the main sugar source of the temperate agricultural zone, routinely undergoes several processing steps during seed production to improve germination performance and seedling growth. Germination assays and seedling phenotyping was carried out on unprocessed, and processed (polished and washed) sugar beet fruits. Pericarp-derived solutes, known to inhibit germination, were tested in germination assays and their osmolality and conductivity assessed (ions). Abscisic acid (ABA) and ABA metabolites were quantified in both the true seed and pericarp tissue using UPLC-ESI(+)-MS/MS. Physical changes in the pericarp structures were assessed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We found that polishing and washing of the sugar beet fruits both had a positive effect on germination performance and seedling phenotype, and when combined, this positive effect was stronger. The mechanical action of polishing removed the outer pericarp (fruit coat) tissue (parenchyma), leaving the inner tissue (sclerenchyma) unaltered, as revealed by SEM. Polishing as well as washing removed germination inhibitors from the pericarp, specifically, ABA, ABA metabolites, and ions. Understanding the biochemistry underpinning the effectiveness of these processing treatments is key to driving further innovations in commercial seed quality.

芹菜种子小,且含有大量的萌发抑制物质,给其种苗繁育带来困难。采用培养皿培养和穴盘培养两种方式,用不同浓度（0、5%、10%、20%、40%）NaClO处理‘六合黄心芹’和‘赛雪’芹菜种子,对种子萌发指标、幼苗生长指标及光合参数进行测定,并分析幼苗中叶绿素含量变化以及相关基因表达。结果表明：5%次氯酸钠溶液处理芹菜种子,其发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数和活力指数最高,幼苗生长势最强,幼苗的壮苗指标、叶绿素含量以及净光合速率也有一定程度提高,相关基因的相对表达量也较高。这些结果说明次氯酸钠处理促进芹菜种子的适宜浓度为5%。

【目的】探究不同浓度赤霉素（GA）、褪黑素（MT）和水杨酸（SA）引发处理对甜菜种子萌发及幼苗生长的影响,为甜菜种子引发剂的筛选提供参考。【方法】以国内自育甜菜品种NT39106为试验材料,采用GA（50、100、200和300 mg/L的赤霉素）、MT（50、100、200和300 μmol/L的褪黑素）和SA（50、100、200和300 mg/L的水杨酸）引发处理8 h,以未引发处理为对照（CK）,分析各处理下甜菜种子发芽及幼苗生长指标。【结果】不同浓度赤霉素（GA）、褪黑素（MT）和水杨酸（SA）引发处理的甜菜种子发芽势和发芽率均显著高于CK（P<0.05）。随着3种引发剂浓度的增加对甜菜种子萌发的促进效果均呈先增加后降低的趋势,其中100 mg/L GA处理的效果最佳,发芽势和发芽率分别高达91.00%、93.67%,其次为SA处理,均优于MT处理。与CK相比,不同浓度的GA、MT（除300 μmol/L处理）和SA处理均明显增加了甜菜幼苗的平均芽长和鲜重,尤其是100 mg/L GA处理,其平均芽长和鲜重分别为5.43 cm、0.37g/10株。【结论】100 mg/L赤霉素（GA）引发甜菜种子的萌发效果最佳,对甜菜幼苗的生长有明显促进作用。

为了研究不同浓度亚硒酸钠对盐胁迫下甜菜种子萌发的影响，并为甜菜种子包衣剂的选择提供依据。试验以“TD805”甜菜单粒种为材料，主处理为盐胁迫（100 mmol/L NaCl模拟盐胁迫），副处理为亚硒酸钠浸种，用直接测量法得到发芽势、发芽率等数据。结果表明，不同浓度亚硒酸钠溶液处理盐胁迫下的“TD805”甜菜种子，浸种18 h的甜菜种子各个活力指标均优于6、12 h，浓度为10 mg/L亚硒酸钠溶液浸种18 h的效果最好。其发芽势、发芽率、发芽指数、活力指数、物质效率较盐胁迫对照CK₂分别提升了21.66%、22.33%、131.01%、240.77%、38.41%。该试验表明盐胁迫下10 mg/L亚硒酸钠溶液浸种18 h的甜菜种子活力水平与营养利用率高，贮藏物质转化快，可以有效缓解盐胁迫下甜菜种子的萌发。

本研究旨在探讨磷酸二氢钠不同处理对甜菜种子活力的影响，以筛选出新的甜菜种子包衣材料。选取‘TD801’甜菜种子作为试验材料，设定磷酸二氢钠的浓度为10、15、20 mmol/L，浸泡时间为8、16、24 h（未经处理的干种子作为CK）对甜菜种子进行处理。通过测定发芽指标，探讨了磷酸二氢钠对甜菜种子活力的影响。结果表明，3种浓度的磷酸二氢钠在8、16、24 h处理时，均能有效促进‘TD801’甜菜种子发芽；相较CK，各处理的发芽势和发芽率分别增加6.67%~16.67%、5.66%~15.66%，发芽指数和活力指数分别增加5.25%~98.05%、7.9%~101.29%，各处理的电导率比CK降低28.30%~66.40%。当浓度为10 mmol/L，24 h时，对发芽势和发芽率的效果更好；当浓度为15 mmol/L，24 h时，对发芽指数和活力指数的影响较好；浓度10 mmol/L，时间为24 h对相对电导率效果更好。磷酸二氢钠能够促进甜菜种子萌发，浓度为10 mmol/L、15 mmol/L，浸泡时间为24 h的磷酸二氢钠处理效果最佳。

本研究旨在探究维生素C对甜菜的引发效果并筛选出适宜的引发处理，同时为甜菜种子包衣剂物料的选择提供相关依据。本试验以TD801和TD802甜菜种子为试验材料，并设计了3个浓度梯度(50、100、200 mg/L)，3个的时间处理(8、16、24 h)，通过对处理后的甜菜种子的发芽势、发芽率、活力指数、发芽指数以及电导率进行分析比较。结果显示，不同处理下的VC溶液对甜菜种子的引发均有促进效果，其中300 mg/L的VC处理24 h后对TD801种子有显著的提升效果，其发芽势为90.67%，发芽率为92.67%，发芽指数为40.36，活力指数为514.60，此时种子的引发效果最好；而对TD802甜菜种子影响最大的VC浓度则为100 mg/L，处理时间为16 h。由此可见，同种引发剂对不同甜菜材料处理时，其引发的最适浓度不同。

为探讨外源硫化氢（H₂S）对干旱胁迫下达乌里胡枝子（Lespedeza davurica）种子萌发及幼苗生长的影响，本试验以干旱胁迫下的达乌里胡枝子种子为研究对象，硫氢化钠为H₂S的外源供体，采用PEG-6000模拟干旱胁迫，经不同浓度的外源H₂S浸种后，测定种子萌发和幼苗的生长生理指标。结果表明：外源H₂S浸种提高了干旱胁迫下幼苗的抗氧化酶活性，增加了幼苗的相对含水量，同时降低了幼苗的相对电导率以及丙二醛含量，从而缓减了干旱胁迫对达乌里胡枝子种子萌发和幼苗生长的抑制作用，且以50 μmol&#183;L^-1的外源H₂S的浸种效果最佳。综上所述，外源H₂S浸种促进了达乌里胡枝子种子萌发和幼苗生长并增强了其抗旱性。

Due to the non-uninform maturation of tobacco fruits and seeds, the priming technique has been used by the tobacco industry as a way of increasing the uniformity and germinations peed of seeds. Several factors can affect priming, including the time and environment in which the treatment is performed. In order to evaluate the effect of sodium hypochlorite as priming agent at different concentrations and the priming period on the physiological quality of the tobacco seeds, it was used a seed lot of commercial cultivar CSC 439 from the Virginia varietal group, widely used by the producing companies. The seeds were subjected to priming in aerated solution at different priming periods (180, 60, 30, 15, and 5 min) and concentrations of sodium hypochlorite (1%, 0.50%, 0.25%, and 0.10 %). The physiological quality was evaluated by the water contents, germination tests, first count, germination index, initial and final stands, emergence index and electrical conductivity. The priming with sodium hypochlorite did not affect germination, but allowed a higher percentage and speed of emergence when using the 1% concentration for 180, 30 and 15 min.

为选择高羊茅（Festuca arundinacea）种子的最佳消毒处理方法，选用6种常用种子消毒处理方法：0.1% HgCl₂浸泡10 min、10% H₂O₂浸泡20 min、0.5% KMnO₄浸泡10 min、75% C₂H₅OH浸泡 5 min、2.0% NaClO浸泡20 min、0.16% HCHO浸泡30 min进行消毒处理，对其消毒效果、种子萌发及幼苗的影响进行测定。结果表明：10% H₂O₂浸泡20 min和0.5% KMnO₄浸泡10 min的消毒效果较好，对种子萌发和幼苗生长均没有负面影响，可以作为高羊茅种子理想的消毒方法优先选用；0.1% HgCl₂浸泡10 min和2.0%NaClO浸泡20 min的消毒效果虽好，对种子发芽率没有影响但对种子萌发速度和幼苗生长有一定的影响，慎重选用；75% C₂H₅OH浸泡5 min和0.16% HCHO浸泡30 min的消毒效果不佳，对幼苗的生长也有影响，且0.16% HCHO处理对种子的伤害较大，不宜选用。

利用正交设计研究了1∶150 84、0.1% HgCl₂和10% H₂O₂3种消毒剂和3个不同消毒时间对不同菊苣种子发芽率、污染率和发芽指数的影响,并对普那菊苣幼苗生长的影响进行了研究,结果表明,3个因素对发芽率影响差异都极显著;消毒剂种类和消毒时间对污染率和发芽指数影响差异显著,品种对污染率和发芽指数影响差异不显著;0.1% HgCl₂对普那菊苣生长抑制作用最明显。综合各因素确定,10% H₂O₂消毒10 min是菊苣最佳消毒方式。

为明确过氧化氢浸种对低温条件下花生发芽及种子生理代谢的影响, 以花生品种开农176为材料, 测定了过氧化氢浸种后的种子发芽及相关生理指标。结果表明, 过氧化氢浸种显著提高了花生的发芽能力, 发芽势从0提高到24.45%, 发芽率从39.33%提高到90.99%。过氧化氢提高了花生种子赤霉素含量, 同时降低了脱落酸含量, 发芽0、24、48 h的赤霉素含量分别比对照提高10.82%、5.73%、18.64%, 脱落酸含量分别比对照降低44.98%、36.45%、39.70%。同时, 提高了抗氧化酶SOD、CAT的活性以及可溶性糖、可溶性蛋白的含量, 降低了丙二醛的含量; 促进了大分子贮藏物质脂肪、蛋白质、淀粉的分解代谢, 为种子发芽提供更多的ATP和蛋白质、核酸的合成底物。研究表明, H₂O₂通过介导抗氧化酶、ABA和GA以及贮藏物质的分解来促进低温胁迫下花生种子的萌发。