lol, i know. i am trying to think of what the mechanism can be, my first guess is that the particular soil bacteria is one that targets the starches and plant hormones that keep the seeds dormant: consuming them while not consuming the cotyledon would release dormancy and away they go. Or, the bacteria could act as a sort of ecto-mycorrhizae, helping the cotyledon get the moisture in amounts it needs in return for getting some starches. (many forest trees have a symbiotic relationship with fungi, they trade carbohydrates for nutrients such as phosphorus, and extend the effective root area of the tree up to four times) (just a long way of saying a plant "helper")
But they kind of lost me at the 74% yield increase. just because of fast germination? and needing less fertilizer? fertilizer isn't even an issue at germination time, it is more critical a little later in the life cycle, active growth of a complete plant.
But that is not to belittle the girls' achievement... it looks significant. the only question i have is about a couple conclusions that were reached "for" them by the author.
Next: the gene that causes the mechanism of accelerated germination is isolated and inserted into corn to shorten the number of growing days needed, by our friends at Monsanto, and the range of GMO corn will be extended well into Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
