HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Related articles in Crop Science Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (7) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Livingston, D. P. Articles by Olien, C. R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Livingston, D. P., III Articles by Olien, C. R. Agricola Articles by Livingston, D. P. Articles by Olien, C. R. Related Collections Crop Physiology & Metabolism Crop Cytology

CROP PHYSIOLOGY & METABOLISM

Changes in the Histology of Cold-Hardened Oat Crowns during Recovery from Freezing

^a USDA and North Carolina State Univ., 840 Method Rd., Unit 3, Raleigh, NC 27695
^b North Carolina State Univ., 840 Method Rd., Unit 3, Raleigh, NC 27695
^c Center for Advanced Microscopy, B7 CIPS Bldg., Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI 48824
^d Dep. of Crop and Soil Sciences, Plant and Soil Sciences Bldg., Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI 48824

^* Corresponding author (dpl{at}unity.ncsu.edu)

The survival of cereal crops during winter depends primarily on the ability of tissue in the crown to withstand various stresses encountered during freezing. Freeze-induced damage to specific regions of oat (Avena sativa L.) crowns was evaluated by sectioning plants at various stages of recovery after they had been grown and frozen under controlled conditions. Our results confirmed those reported for barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) that the apical meristem was apparently the tissue in the crown most tolerant of freezing. Photographs of sections during recovery provided evidence that the apical meristem within the crown survived freezing in plants that were rated as nonsurvivors. Closer examination revealed abnormal nuclei in many cells of plants that had been frozen. These cells with condensed and dark red chromatin resembled the description of nuclear pycnosis found in mammalian cells damaged by radiation, extreme abiotic stress, and various carcinogens. The crown meristem complex was separated from the crown and fractionated into two regions: the upper portion of the crown meristem complex, called the apical region, and the lower portion called the crown core. The dry weight of both the apical region and crown core increased during cold-hardening but the increase in dry weight was higher in the crown core than in the apical region. During cold-hardening the percentage of total water freezing at –2°C became lower and after 3 wk was 50 and 47% in the apical region and the crown core, respectively. The initial freezing rate of the apical region was higher than that of the crown core and reached equilibrium about 2 h earlier than the crown core. Differences are discussed in relation to the freezing survival of specific tissue.

Abbreviations: CM, crown meristem

Related articles in Crop Science:

THIS ISSUE IN CROP SCIENCE

Crop Science 2005 45: vii. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. R. Wooten, D. P. Livingston III, J. B. Holland, D. S. Marshall, and J. P. Murphy Quantitative Trait Loci and Epistasis for Crown Freezing Tolerance in the 'Kanota' x 'Ogle' Hexaploid Oat Mapping Population Crop Sci., January 16, 2008; 48(1): 149 - 157. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. M. Herman, K. Rotter, R. Premakumar, G Elwinger, R. Bae, L. Ehler-King, S. Chen, and D. P. Livingston III Additional freeze hardiness in wheat acquired by exposure to -3 {degrees}C is associated with extensive physiological, morphological, and molecular changes J. Exp. Bot., November 1, 2006; 57(14): 3601 - 3618. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]