Anchorage by seed mucilage prevents seed dislodgement in high surface flow: a mechanistic investigation.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Seed mucilage is a common and highly diverse trait shared among thousands of angiosperm species. While it has long been recognized that mucilage allows seeds to anchor to substrates (antitelechory), resisting abiotic and biotic dislodgement, we still lack a mechanistic understanding of this process.

Methods

We propose a mechanistic model of how mucilage affects substrate anchorage and fluid resistance, ultimately contributing to dislodgement resistance. To test this model, we subjected mucilaginous seeds of 52 species, varying in eight measured seed traits, to 7 d of continuous water flow at a range of dislodgement potentials.

Key results

Supporting our model, mucilage mass increased the force necessary to dislodge both dry and wet seeds; our measu

SUBMITTER: Pan VS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9292590 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature