The present study aims to define the effects of Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (CAPP) exposure on seed germination of an agriculturally important crop, soybean. Seed treatment with lower doses of CAPP generated in ambient air and oxygen significantly increased the activity of succinate dehydrogenase (Krebs cycle enzyme), proving the switching of the germinating seed metabolism from anoxygenic to oxygenic. In these treatments, a positive effect on seed germination was documented (the percentage of germination increased by almost 20% compared to the untreated control), while the seed and seedling vigour was also positively affected. On the other hand, higher exposure times of CAPP generated in a nitrogen atmosphere significantly inhibited succinate dehydrogenase activity, but stimulated lactate and alcohol dehydrogenase activities, suggesting anoxygenic metabolism. It was also found that plasma exposure caused a slight increment in the level of primary DNA damage in ambient air- and oxygen-CAPP treatments, and more significant DNA damage was found in nitrogen-CAPP treatments. Although a higher level of DNA damage was also detected in the negative control (untreated seeds), this might be associated with the age of seeds followed by their lower germination capacity (with the germination percentage reaching only about 60%).

中文翻译：

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大气压冷等离子对大豆种子萌发影响的评价

本研究旨在确定冷大气压等离子体（CAPP）暴露对农业重要作物大豆种子萌发的影响。用环境空气和氧气中产生的较低剂量的CAPP进行种子处理，可显着提高琥珀酸脱氢酶（Krebs循环酶）的活性，从而证明发芽种子的新陈代谢从无氧转变为有氧。在这些处理中，已证明对种子发芽有积极作用（与未处理的对照相比，发芽率提高了近20％），同时种子和幼苗的活力也受到了积极影响。另一方面，在氮气氛下产生的CAPP的暴露时间较长，会显着抑制琥珀酸脱氢酶活性，但会刺激乳酸和醇脱氢酶活性，提示无氧代谢。还发现血浆暴露导致在环境空气和氧气-CAPP处理中初级DNA损伤的水平略有增加，而在氮-CAPP处理中发现更明显的DNA损伤。尽管在阴性对照（未处理的种子）中也检测到较高水平的DNA损伤，但这可能与种子的年龄及其较低的发芽能力有关（发芽率仅达到约60％）。