FIGURE 5.

Gibberelline (GA) contents of brown and black seeds of Suaeda salsa during germination process under normal and salt stress conditions. The brown (BR) and black (BL) seeds were treated with (A) 0 and 200 or (B) 0 and 600 mM NaCl solution under continuous light at 22°C. After 0, 3, 6, 12, and 24 h of treatment, seed samples were harvested to determine the GA contents. GA₁₂, GA₁₅, GA₂₄, and GA₉ (blue color) are biosynthetic precursors of bioactive GAs. GA₄ (red color) is a bioactive GA form, whereas GA₅₁ and GA₃₄ (black color) are deactivated forms. Red and black arrows indicate responses of brown and black seeds to salinity, respectively. Upward and downward arrows indicate increase and decrease of GA contents by salt stress, respectively. Numbers above the arrows indicate the GA reduction percentage by salt stress. Means and SE values (error bars) were calculated from the results of three independent experiments. Asterisks indicate significant differences as determined by a Student’s t-test (^∗∗P < 0.01 and ^∗∗∗P < 0.001). DW, dry weight.