TY - JOUR A2 - Saadoun, Ismail AU - Sánchez-Coronado, María Esther AU - Márquez-Guzmán, Judith AU - Rosas-Moreno, Jeanette AU - Vidal-Gaona, Guadalupe AU - Villegas, Margarita AU - Espinosa-Matías, Silvia AU - Olvera-Carrillo, Yadira AU - Orozco-Segovia, Alma PY - 2011 DA - 2011/09/08 TI - Mycoflora in Exhumed Seeds ofOpuntia tomentosaand Its Possible Role in Seed Germination SP - 107159 VL - 2011 AB - The funicular cover of the Opuntia tomentosaseed limits imbibition; germination occurs only when the funicle is weakened or the funicular valve is removed. We investigated the role of fungi in funicular weakening and seed germination. Seeds that had been either buried in one of two sites or stored in the laboratory were germinated with and without a valve. Disinfected or nondisinfected seeds and their naked embryos were cultivated on agar or PDA. None of the 11 identified fungal genera grew on the disinfected control seeds or the embryos. The mycoflora present on disinfected and nondisinfected exhumed seeds suggest that the fungal colonization occurred in the soil and differed between the burial sites. Exhumed seeds with and without a valve germinated in high percentages, whereas only the control seeds without a valve germinated. Scanning electron micrographs showed that the hyphae penetrated, cracked, and eroded the funicular envelope of exhumed seeds. SN - 1687-7667 UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/107159 DO - 10.1155/2011/107159 JF - Applied and Environmental Soil Science PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation KW - ER -