20.500.12556/DiRROS-29134 Plasma-based treatments regulate seed germination in Cannabis sativa via oxidative status modulation and transcriptional changes Cannabis sativa (hemp) is an industrial crop with expanding applications in the agrifood, textile, and pharmaceutical sectors. Despite its economic potential, seed germination and quality, essential for plant development and crop establishment, are suboptimal. In this context, plasma-induced seed priming represents a novel approach to improve germination efficiency. Although these treatments are rapid, their efficacy depends on the careful optimization of several operational parameters. Here, we aimed at developing optimized plasma priming treatments for hemp seeds by evaluating the influence of gas composition, operating pressure, and treatment duration. Two seed lots of a commercial hemp variety with distinct seed quality levels were used. The physiological effects on seed germination were determined by measuring several parameters (germination percentage, rate, and speed) while additional analyses included the levels of water uptake, surface hydrophilicity, chemical modifications, oxidative status, and selected gene expression profiles. Integrative data analysis revealed that oxygen-based plasma applied at high power intensity and short exposure time resulted in enhanced germination performance, likely due to increased hydrophilicity and subsequent water uptake. This treatment likely acted as a priming agent, stimulating pre-germinative metabolism, as evidenced by the transcriptional profiles of target genes. However, prolonged exposure resulted in detrimental effects possibly attributed to an excessive water uptake and ROS over-production. Overall, these findings suggest that properly calibrated plasma treatments can stimulate beneficial physiological responses and enhance germination, whereas excessive exposure disrupts cellular homeostasis and compromises seed performance. seed quality non-equilibrium gaseous plasma hydrophilicity kakovost semen hidrofilnost true false true Elsevier Nizozemska Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik © 2026 The Authors. Neznano 2026-04-22 09:22:01 2026-04-22 09:22:01 2026-04-23 04:02:10 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Nasl. z nasl. zaslona; Soavtorji iz Slovenije: Dane Lojen, Janez Kovač, Rok Zaplotnik, Miran Mozetič; Opis vira z dne 21. 4. 2026; str. 1-10 Vol. 233, [article no.] 111268 Apr. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2026-01-31 2026-03-31 2026-04-08 60 1873-2690 10.1016/j.plaphy.2026.111268 275963139 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0981942826002548?via%3Dihub 1 f698e065-3e1b-11f1-a343-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=43530 RAZ_Bosco_Nicola_2026.pdf RAZ_Bosco_Nicola_2026.pdf 1 F306A3F64C7686250A67ED5DE2865CB3 4bf8b4f7703d369cadd8fc3d77b687ecbb06116c4cd61d30e8e48f0f25df3996 6a16fc79-3e1c-11f1-a343-001a4af901a5 https://dirros.openscience.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=43533 Institut Jožef Stefan 0 0 0