Inheritance of Seed Dormancy in Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum)

The genetics of chill-related seed dormancy, exhibited by a lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) genotype native to North America, was investigated. Less than 1 % of the seeds germinated by direct hydration at 20°C, while full germination (98%) was attained by chilling imbibed seeds, for at least 11 days, at 3°C, before transferring them to 20°C. The inheritance of seed dormancy was analyzed in F₁, BC₁, and F₂, populations, derived from mating between a normal non-chill-requiring genotype (P₁) and the above chill-requiring genotype (P₂). F₁ seeds, of both reciprocals, and BC₁ (P₁) seeds were all non-dormant. The proportion of seed dormancy in F₂ and BC, (P₂) was 0.06 and 0.68, respectively. The inheritance model proposed includes six diallelic loci with cumulative effects, in which the presence of at least nine ‘dormancy-conferring’ alleles is necessary for inducing phenotypic seed dormancy. Possible implications of inherent seed dormancy on the utilization of native lisianthus germplasm for breeding are discussed.