Germination requirements of nine European Aegilopsspecies in relation to constant and alternating temperatures

AbstractThe genus Aegilopsrepresents the secondary gene pool of wheat. A better understanding of the germination behaviour of Aegilopsspecies is important to improve their use in breeding programmes and strengthen their in situ/ex situconservation.In this study, we investigated the germination behaviour of nine Aegilopsspecies, five of them not yet investigated, under two alternating and two constant temperatures. Seed germination was higher than 60% in all temperature treatments and species. Alternating temperatures promoted higher germination rates in all the species and significantly enhanced seed germination in three species (Aegilops biuncialis, Aegilops geniculataand Aegilops neglecta), in comparison with constant temperatures. One of the rarest and least productive species in the genus (Aegilops uniaristata) displayed the highest germination. This study suggests that different (seed) regeneration strategies/niches occur across Aegilopsspecies.