Molecular mobility in Medicago truncatula seed during early stage of germination: Neutron scattering and NMR investigations

•Neutron scattering and NMR approaches were used to characterize seed germination.•A parallel between macromolecular motions and water dynamics was established.•Freezing/thawing cycle revealed a hysteresis connected to the seed hydration level.

First hours of Medicago truncatula (MT) seeds germination were investigated using elastic incoherent neutron scattering (EINS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), to follow respectively how macromolecular motions and water mobility evolve when water permeates into the seed. From EINS results, it was shown that there is an increase in macromolecular mobility with the water uptake. Changes in NMR relaxation parameters reflected microstructural changes associated with the recovery of the metabolic processes. The EINS investigation of the effect of temperature on macromolecular motions showed that there is a relationship between the amount of water in the seeds and the effect of freezing-thawing cycle. The NMR relaxometry results obtained at 253 K allowed establishing possible link between the freezing of water molecules tightly bound to macromolecules and their drastic motion restriction around 250 K, as observed with EINS at the highest water content.

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