Comparative analysis of anoxic coleoptile elongation in rice varieties: relationship between coleoptile length and carbohydrate levels, fermentative metabolism and anaerobic gene expression

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) seeds can germinate under anoxia and can show coleoptile elongation. The anoxic coleoptile is usually longer than aerobic coleoptiles. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the ability of rice to elongate coleoptiles under anoxia, conclusive experimental evidence explaining this physiological trait is lacking. In order to investigate whether metabolic and molecular markers correlate with anoxic coleoptile length, we screened 141 Italian and 23 Sri Lankan rice cultivars for their ability to elongate coleoptiles under anoxia. Differences in anoxic coleoptile length were used to evaluate whether a correlation exists between coleoptile length and biochemical and molecular parameters. The expression of genes coding for glycolytic and fermentative enzymes showed a very low correlation with anoxic coleoptile length. Although differences were found in carbohydrate content between the varieties tested, this parameter also does not appear to be critical in terms of coleoptile elongation. Efficient ethanol fermentation does, however, correlate well with the elongation of coleoptiles under anoxic conditions.