Loss of vigor caused by seed aging adversely affects agricultural production under natural conditions. However, priming is an economical and effective method for improving the vigor of aged seeds. The objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of exogenous ascorbic acid (ASC) and glutathione (GSH) priming in the repairing of aged oat (Avena sativa) seeds, and to test the hypothesis that structural and functional systems in mitochondria were involved in this process. Oat seeds were artificially aged for 20 days at 45 °C, and were primed with solutions (1 mmol L− 1) of ASC, GSH, or ASC + GSH at 20 °C for 0.5 h before or after their aging. Seed germination, antioxidant enzymes in the ASC-GSH cycle, cytochrome c oxidase (COX) and mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase (MDH) activities, and the mitochondrial ultrastructures of the embryonic root cells were markedly improved in aged oat seeds through post-priming with ASC, GSH, or ASC + GSH, while their malondialdehyde and H2O2 contents decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Our results suggested that priming with ASC, GSH, or ASC + GSH after aging could effectively alleviate aging damage in oat seeds, and that the role of ASC was more effective than GSH, but positive effects of post-priming with ASC and GSH were not superior to post-priming with ASC in repairing aging damage of aged oat seeds. However, pre-priming with ASC, GSH, or ASC + GSH was not effective in oat seeds, suggesting that pre-priming with ASC, GSH, or ASC + GSH could not inhibit the occurrence of aging damage in oat seeds.

中文翻译：

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外源抗坏血酸和谷胱甘肽引发对线粒体结构和功能系统的影响，以减轻燕麦种子的老化损伤

在自然条件下，种子老化导致的活力丧失会对农业生产产生不利影响。然而，引发是提高老化种子活力的一种经济有效的方法。这项研究的目的是检验外源抗坏血酸（ASC）和谷胱甘肽（GSH）引发对修复燕麦（Avena sativa）种子的有效性，并检验线粒体的结构和功能系统参与其中的假设这个过程。燕麦种子在45°C下人工老化20天，并在老化之前或之后在20°C下用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH的溶液（1 mmol L-1）灌注0.5 h。种子发芽，ASC-GSH循环中的抗氧化酶，细胞色素c氧化酶（COX）和线粒体苹果酸脱氢酶（MDH）活性，燕麦种子经ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH后处理后，胚根细胞的线粒体超微结构得到明显改善，而丙二醛和H2O2含量明显降低（P <0.05）。我们的结果表明，老化后用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH引发可有效减轻燕麦种子的老化损伤，并且ASC的作用比GSH更为有效，但ASC和GSH引发后的积极作用并不明显在修复老化的燕麦种子的老化损伤方面，优于ASC的引发后处理。但是，用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH预先灌注对燕麦种子无效，这表明用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH预先灌注不能抑制燕麦种子老化的发生。或ASC + GSH，而其丙二醛和H2O2含量显着下降（P <0.05）。我们的结果表明，老化后用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH引发可有效减轻燕麦种子的老化损伤，并且ASC的作用比GSH更为有效，但ASC和GSH引发后的积极作用并不明显在修复老化的燕麦种子的老化损伤方面，优于ASC的引发后处理。但是，用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH预先灌注对燕麦种子无效，这表明用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH预先灌注不能抑制燕麦种子老化的发生。或ASC + GSH，而其丙二醛和H2O2含量显着下降（P <0.05）。我们的结果表明，老化后用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH引发可有效减轻燕麦种子的老化损伤，并且ASC的作用比GSH更为有效，但ASC和GSH引发后的积极作用并不明显在修复老化的燕麦种子的老化损伤方面，优于ASC的引发后处理。但是，用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH预先灌注对燕麦种子无效，这表明用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH预先灌注不能抑制燕麦种子老化的发生。并且ASC的作用比GSH更为有效，但是ASC和GSH引发的后修复在修复衰老的燕麦种子中的积极作用并不优于ASC引发的后处理。但是，用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH预先灌注对燕麦种子无效，这表明用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH预先灌注不能抑制燕麦种子老化的发生。并且ASC的作用比GSH更为有效，但是ASC和GSH引发的后修复在修复衰老的燕麦种子中的积极作用并不优于ASC引发的后处理。但是，用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH预先灌注对燕麦种子无效，这表明用ASC，GSH或ASC + GSH预先灌注不能抑制燕麦种子老化的发生。