Teliti 'Benih Zombie' Selama 144 Tahun, Ilmuwan Temukan Spesies Tumbuhan Hybrid yang Misterius

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

The researchers who worked on a secret experiment for 144 years on "zombie seeds" have discovered a surprising hidden hybrid plant 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 weed species, at an unknown location on Michigan State University (MSU) campus. Beal's objective was to determine how long the seeds could remain viable by excavating the bottles years later to see if the seeds would germinate or grow into plants. He hoped to understand how long dormant seeds in agricultural fields could pose a threat to farmers if they were brought to the surface by plowing.

"Continuing Research"

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

The translation of the given 'Bahasa' text to 'English' while preserving any html tags is: "The location of Beal's bottles remains a closely guarded secret and is preserved from researcher to researcher to avoid any interference from any party in this project."

Teliti 'Benih Zombie' Selama 144 Tahun, Ilmuwan Temukan Spesies Tumbuhan Hybrid yang Misterius

Photo: Derrick L. Turner/University of Michigan

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

The following is the translation of the given 'Bahasa' text to 'English' while preserving any html tags: "These seeds are like zombies that can survive in the ground for a very long time, seemingly dead and suddenly sprout," said Marjorie Weber, a plant biology professor at MSU and the project researcher, in a statement in 2021 after the seeds were last dug up."

"Mixture of 2 Different Species"

However, in a recent further study published on October 9th in the American Journal of Botany, the team found that bottle number 16 contained hybrids, or a mixture 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 following 'Bahasa' text translated to 'English' while preserving any html tags: "A mixture of V. thapsus and V. blattaria was revealed through DNA analysis, which "will surely astonish and amaze Beal as DNA was unknown at the time the bottles were buried," the researchers wrote in a new statement. The researchers are still unsure exactly how the hybrid was created, but it is likely that Beal mistakenly assumed the seeds to be regular V. thapsus seeds when he filled the bottles."

The translation of the given 'Bahasa' text to 'English' while preserving any HTML tags is: "The Verbascum seeds are one of the few species that can still germinate."

"The others stopped sprouting after several decades. The team hopes that the seeds will continue to sprout when the next bottle is unearthed."

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

kata peneliti proyek David Lowry, seorang profesor biologi tumbuhan di MSU, dalam pernyataan terbaru. The words of researcher David Lowry, a professor of plant biology at MSU, in the latest statement.

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

"Beal's experiment will ultimately end when we run out of bottles. If seeds sprout 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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