New Detection Method for Fungal Infection in Silver Fir Seeds

Silver fir trees have cycles of low and high seed production, and thus it is necessary to collect seeds in high production years to save them for low production years to ensure the continuity of nursery production. Tree seeds can be stored loosely in piles or containers, but they need to be checked...

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Main Authors: Piotr Borowik, Marcin Stocki, Maria Fasano, Aleh Marozau, Tadeusz Malewski, Tomasz Oszako, Tom Hsiang, Miłosz Tkaczyk, Rafał Tarakowski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-03-01
Series:Forests
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/3/479
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author Piotr Borowik
Marcin Stocki
Maria Fasano
Aleh Marozau
Tadeusz Malewski
Tomasz Oszako
Tom Hsiang
Miłosz Tkaczyk
Rafał Tarakowski
author_facet Piotr Borowik
Marcin Stocki
Maria Fasano
Aleh Marozau
Tadeusz Malewski
Tomasz Oszako
Tom Hsiang
Miłosz Tkaczyk
Rafał Tarakowski
author_sort Piotr Borowik
collection DOAJ
description Silver fir trees have cycles of low and high seed production, and thus it is necessary to collect seeds in high production years to save them for low production years to ensure the continuity of nursery production. Tree seeds can be stored loosely in piles or containers, but they need to be checked for viability before planting. The objective of this study was to find a quick and inexpensive method to determine the suitability of seed lots for planting. The working hypothesis was that an electronic nose device could be used to detect odors from fungi or from decomposing organic material, and thus aid in determination of whether seeds could be sown or discarded. To affirm and supplement results from the electronic nose, we used gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to detect volatile secondary metabolites such as limonene and cadienes, which were found at the highest concentrations in both, infected and uninfected seeds. Uninfected seeds contained exceptionally high concentrations of pinene, which are known to be involved in plant resistance responses. Statistically higher levels of terpineol were found in infected seeds than in uninfected seeds. A prototype of our electronic nose partially discriminated between healthy and spoiled seeds, and between green and white fungal colonies grown on incubated seeds. These preliminary observations were encouraging and we plan to develop a practical device that will be useful for forestry and horticulture.
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spelling doaj.art-f2942d3ea0e74da2af931c4da788432e2023-11-24T01:13:49ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072022-03-0113347910.3390/f13030479New Detection Method for Fungal Infection in Silver Fir SeedsPiotr Borowik0Marcin Stocki1Maria Fasano2Aleh Marozau3Tadeusz Malewski4Tomasz Oszako5Tom Hsiang6Miłosz Tkaczyk7Rafał Tarakowski8Faculty of Physics, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-662 Warszawa, PolandFaculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Forest Sciences, Białystok University of Technology, 15-351 Białystok, PolandLaboratorio de Biología Molecular, Instituto de Biotecnología de Misiones, InBioMis, Campus Universitario, Posadas 3300, ArgentinaFaculty of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Forest Sciences, Białystok University of Technology, 15-351 Białystok, PolandDepartment of Molecular and Biometric Techniques, Museum and Institute of Zoology, 00-679 Warsaw, PolandDepartement of Forest Protection, Forest Research Institute, 05-090 Sękocin Stary, PolandEnvironmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, CanadaDepartement of Forest Protection, Forest Research Institute, 05-090 Sękocin Stary, PolandFaculty of Physics, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-662 Warszawa, PolandSilver fir trees have cycles of low and high seed production, and thus it is necessary to collect seeds in high production years to save them for low production years to ensure the continuity of nursery production. Tree seeds can be stored loosely in piles or containers, but they need to be checked for viability before planting. The objective of this study was to find a quick and inexpensive method to determine the suitability of seed lots for planting. The working hypothesis was that an electronic nose device could be used to detect odors from fungi or from decomposing organic material, and thus aid in determination of whether seeds could be sown or discarded. To affirm and supplement results from the electronic nose, we used gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to detect volatile secondary metabolites such as limonene and cadienes, which were found at the highest concentrations in both, infected and uninfected seeds. Uninfected seeds contained exceptionally high concentrations of pinene, which are known to be involved in plant resistance responses. Statistically higher levels of terpineol were found in infected seeds than in uninfected seeds. A prototype of our electronic nose partially discriminated between healthy and spoiled seeds, and between green and white fungal colonies grown on incubated seeds. These preliminary observations were encouraging and we plan to develop a practical device that will be useful for forestry and horticulture.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/3/479seedssilver fir<i>Abies alba</i> Mill.GC-MSsecondary metaboliteselectronic nose
spellingShingle Piotr Borowik
Marcin Stocki
Maria Fasano
Aleh Marozau
Tadeusz Malewski
Tomasz Oszako
Tom Hsiang
Miłosz Tkaczyk
Rafał Tarakowski
New Detection Method for Fungal Infection in Silver Fir Seeds
Forests
seeds
silver fir
<i>Abies alba</i> Mill.
GC-MS
secondary metabolites
electronic nose
title New Detection Method for Fungal Infection in Silver Fir Seeds
title_full New Detection Method for Fungal Infection in Silver Fir Seeds
title_fullStr New Detection Method for Fungal Infection in Silver Fir Seeds
title_full_unstemmed New Detection Method for Fungal Infection in Silver Fir Seeds
title_short New Detection Method for Fungal Infection in Silver Fir Seeds
title_sort new detection method for fungal infection in silver fir seeds
topic seeds
silver fir
<i>Abies alba</i> Mill.
GC-MS
secondary metabolites
electronic nose
url https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/13/3/479
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