Adaptation of Legume Seeds to Waterlogging at Germination

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The language needs to be cleaned up as I did have difficulty at times understanding what I was reading. Some sentences read, at least in my opinion, the opposite to what the author intended. These will be noted in the attached file with wither a ? or a rewrite comment.

On the first page it is indicated that the radicle in rice elongates to the water surface and then on page 4, the author states that it is the coleoptile. which is correct? 

Is there selection taking place for enhanced germination under anoxoic conditions in any of the annual legumes used for relay cropping with rice?

Aerenchyma tissue is found in a number of perennial legume species (Trifolium pratense and Lotus corniculatus to name two). Do either of these have anoxic germination properties that could be used as a model crop for what is needed?

While germination is critical for establishment, so is emergence (and the reversion to aerobic growth). this is not indicated clearly in the review and could be discussed.

The title for Table 1 indicates "at various temperatures, however, only 25 C is listed? remove these words from the title or expand the table to include other temperatures.

Other concerns and suggestions are in the attached document.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

The manuscript is well written and well organized with very informative illustrations. Not having a line number make it difficult to refer to the comment in the text. Some minor editorial comments are as follows and in the attached file:

Line 1 Introduction: relied on or relied upon

Line 6 Paragraph 2 Introduction: and is high toward the end of the germination stage [11]

Line 8-9 Introduction: when there is an absent or small amount of oxygen entering the seed embryo

through the micropyle

anoxia, and/or hypoxia

page 2 line 1: legumes

Page 4:

aerated conditions

 in nutrient availability can cause germination failure, disturbance in plant growth, and dysfunction of the root system

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear Authors,

The manuscript submitted for review presents an overview of the current literature on adaptation of legume seeds to waterlogging during germination. This is an important issue because, under field conditions, the seeds of this group of plants subjected to stress conditions often show reduced germination capacity. This review of the literature allows to understand the mechanisms of seed adaptation to the conditions of flooding with water during germination which takes place, among others, in relay cropping. In my opinion, this manuscript is well written. I have only minor reservations:

• "Oxygen is the main factor for seeds to germinate [6-8]." (Introduction). Not only oxygen is needed for germination. Elsewhere in the manuscript (chapter 4. Germination), the authors correctly state that water is important in addition to oxygen "Germination occurs when mature seeds are exposed to sufficient oxygen and water [30,31]." There is therefore a lack of consistency.
• “This section may be divided by subheadings. It should provide a concise and precise description of the experimental results, their interpretation, as well as the experimental conclusions that can be drawn. " (chapter 3. Seed Imbibition) - is this self-criticism? Undoubtedly, such additions would increase the value of this work.

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

the revised manuscript s much better and just one minor clarification needed.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf