Exogenous spermidine improves seed germination of sweet corn via involvement in phytohormone interactions, H(2)O(2) and relevant gene expression

BACKGROUND: The low seed vigor and poor field emergence are main factors that restricting the extension of sweet corn in China. Spermidine (Spd) plays an important role in plant growth and development, but little is known about the effect of Spd on sweet corn seed germination. Therefore the effect of exogenous Spd on seed germination and physiological and biochemical changes during seed imbibition of Xiantian No.5 were investigated in this study. RESULTS: Spd soaking treatment not only improved seed germination percentage but also significantly enhanced seed vigor which was indicated by higher germination index, vigor index, shoot heights and dry weights of shoot and root compared with the control; while exogenous CHA, the biosynthesis inhibitor of Spd, significantly inhibited seed germination and declined seed vigor. Spd application significantly increased endogenous Spd, gibberellins and ethylene contents and simultaneously reduced ABA concentration in embryos during seed imbibition. In addition, the effects of exogenous Spd on H(2)O(2) and MDA productions were also analyzed. Enhanced H(2)O(2) concentration was observed in Spd-treated seed embryo, while no significant difference of MDA level in seed embryo was observed between Spd treatment and control. However, the lower H(2)O(2) and significantly higher MDA contents than control were detected in CHA-treated seed embryos. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that Spd contributing to fast seed germination and high seed vigor of sweet corn might be closely related with the metabolism of hormones including gibberellins, ABA and ethylene, and with the increase of H(2)O(2) in the radical produced partly from Spd oxidation. In addition, Spd might play an important role in cell membrane integrity maintaining. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-016-0951-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.