Scientists who are part of a long-running scientific experiment that has been running since 1879 were able to surprisingly discover a hybrid plant in seeds kept in a secret location since 1829.
Long-Running Germination Experiment
Back in 1879, William Beal, a botanist, buried 20 different glass pint bottles containing wet sand and 50 seeds of 23 specific weed species. These bottles were buried in a hidden location in Michigan State University (MSU). The goal of Beal was to find out the viability of the seeds by digging the bottles after several years. This was done to examine if these seeds would still germinate or grow even after the interval years had passed. Beal also wanted to know how long dormant seeds under fields could pose threats if they were to be plowed.
Beal dug up the bottles of soils and seeds every five years. However, in 1920, after the unearthing of the first eight bottles and observing their germination, the researchers successors of Beal wanted to prolong the experiment. They did so by expanding the intervals and opting to dig up bottles every decade instead. This dig interval was then lengthened to 20 years in 1980.
The exact location of the bottles were kept a secret in order to avoid project interference.
In 2021, the 16th bottle was dug up. Some of the kept plants were observed to go beyond expectations and germinate more.
Plant biology professor Marjori Weber, a project researcher, explains that the seeds are zombie-like as they can stay in the soil for prolonged periods.
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Hybrid Plant Discovered
However, in the most recent follow-up, the team observed that the 16th bottle had a hybrid species of two genetically different species. This was a mix of Verbascum thapsus, which was deliberately included in the experiment, and Verbascum blattaria, which was initially not added to the bottles.
The hybrid was revealed through DNA analysis. The researchers note that this would have come as a surprise to Beal as the concept of DNA was still not known when the experiment began.
The creation of the hybrid species still puzzles researchers. However, it is likely that the V. thapsus seed may have been mistaken by Beal as he was filling in bottles.
The seeds of Verbascum are among the few species that can still germinate, while the others stopped after a couple of decades had passed. The team is hopeful that germination will continue during the unearthing of the next bottle.
As there are only four bottles left, the researchers may need to lengthen the dig intervals for the experiment to last even longer, as the experiment will end once all bottles are dug up. David Lowry, a plant biology professor from MSU, explains that if the next seeds are seen to germinate, researchers may consider extending the dig intervals to 30 years.
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