Research 'Zombie Seeds' for 144 Years, Scientists Discover Mysterious Hybrid Plant Species

"Researching 'Zombie Seeds' for 144 Years, Scientists Discover Mysterious Hybrid Plant Species"

The researchers working on a secret experiment for 144 years on "zombie seeds" have discovered a surprising hybrid plant hidden among the other buried seeds.

In 1879, botanist William Beal buried 20 pint-sized glass bottles, each containing wet sand and 50 seeds from 23 species of weeds, at an unknown location at Michigan State University (MSU). Beal's goal was to determine how long seeds could remain viable by digging up the bottles years later to see if the seeds would germinate or grow into plants. He hoped to find out how long dormant seeds under farmland could pose a threat to farmers if they were brought to the surface by plowing.

The translation of "Melanjutkan Penelitian" to English is "Continuing Research".

"Initially, Beal dug 1 bottle every five years. But in 1920, after the first 8 bottles had been uncovered and their seeds showed a high germination success rate, Beal's successors decided to extend this experiment by digging up one bottle every 10 years. In 1980, the interval was extended to 20 years because the seeds continued to germinate."

"The location of Beal's bottles remains a closely guarded secret and is preserved from researcher to researcher to avoid any interference from outside parties with this project."

Research 'Zombie Seeds' for 144 Years, Scientists Discover Mysterious Hybrid Plant Species

"Photo:Derrick L. Turner/University of Michigan"

"In 2021, researchers dug up the 16th bottle. As in previous experiments, several buried plants "produced seeds" beyond expectations and sprouted again."

The seeds "are like zombies that can survive in the soil for a very long time, appearing to be dead and suddenly sprouting," said project researcher Marjorie Weber, a professor of plant biology at MSU, in a 2021 statement after the seeds were last excavated.

The translation of "Campuran dari 2 Spesies Berbeda" to English is "Mixture of 2 Different Species".

"However, in a recent follow-up study published on October 9 in the American Journal of Botany, the team found that bottle 16 contained hybrids, or a mix of genes from two different species: Verbascum thapsus, which is known to be part of the experiment; and Verbascum blattaria, which was intentionally not included in the bottle."

The mixture of V. thapsus and V. blattaria was revealed through DNA analysis, which "will surely surprise and amaze Beal because the DNA was unknown at the time the bottles were buried," the researchers wrote in a new statement. The researchers are still not entirely sure how the hybrid was created, but it is likely that Beal mistakenly identified the seeds as ordinary V. thapsus seeds when he filled the bottles.

"The Verbascum seeds are one of the few species that can still germinate."

"The others stopped germinating after a few decades. The team hopes that the seeds will continue to germinate when the next bottle is excavated."

"It's still a bit early to mark it on my calendar, but I hope to see if we can grow more seeds by 2040,""

said project researcher David Lowry, a professor of plant biology at MSU, in a recent statement.

"With only four bottles left, the researchers may need to increase the interval between excavations to extend the experiment."

“Beal's experiment will eventually come to an end when we run out of bottles.” “If seeds germinate again from the next excavation, we may need to consider extending the time between bottle extractions to every 30 years,” said Lowry.

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