The effect of O(2) partial pressure on the germination and the respiration of 12 cultivated species was studied. The reciprocal of the time necessary to observe rootlet emergence in 50% of the seeds was used to approach the germination rate. The maximum germination and respiration rates were reached in most seeds at O(2) pressures close to that of air. Decreasing the O(2) pressure produced a gr...

In order to increase the concentration of the nutritionally essential sulphur amino acids in seed protein, a transgene encoding a methionine- and cysteine-rich protein, sunflower seed albumin (SSA), was transferred to chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L). Transgenic seeds that accumulated SSA contained more methionine and less oxidized sulphur than the controls, suggesting that additional demand for s...

Psittacines are often classified as seed eaters despite studies that have established great di versity in food habits in the wild. While seeds are con sumed, so are flowers, buds, leaves, fruits and cam bium. Some psittacines consume parts of >80 species of grasses, forbs, shrubs and trees. In addition, insects may be important. Although there are few controlled studies of the requirements of p...