Seed Priming Applied to Onion-Like Crops: State of the Art and Open Questions

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

1.     Lack of discussion on the mechanism behind the mode of action of priming agents in onion and onion like crops

2.     The authors should draw conclusion from the available literature otherwise it is more of a compilation of different research papers.

3.     #Line 53 Arrange them in descending order

4.     #Line 81-86 Reference missing

5.     #Line 169 It is germination percentage

6.     Mention the concentration and duration of the priming treatment wherever mentioned. For example : Line 165, 207, 223 etc

Author Response

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Reviewer 2 Report

In this manuscript, the authors provide an up-to-date review of scientific and technological advances to date that have contributed to enhancing seed vigor in onion-like crops. I recommend that this manuscript be published after revision.

small comment: Lines 115-15 2. It would be more concise if the descriptive word were changed to table.

Main comments: 242 line. Molecular characterization of model plants and Allium crops.

The authors should integrate a paragraph in this section on the molecular mechanism of seed initiation (briefly described in lines 102 to 111). Examples include hydration and phytohormone biosynthesis genes. This article might help you: Prion-like protein regulators of seed germination undergo hydration-dependent phase separation (https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0092-8674%2821%2900710-8), ABA Progressive chromatin silencing of biosynthetic genes allows seed germination in Arabidopsis (https://academic.oup.com/plcell/advance-article/doi/10.1093/plcell/koac134/6581715?login=true).

Author Response

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Reviewer 3 Report

This review focuses on the seed priming applied to onion-like crops and provides a brief description of the different priming approaches. However, this review is not novel or poorly summarized. Most of them have been reported in previous reviews, and even some of them are direct translations of other references. Therefore, this review needs some major revisions, in particular more details on the different types of seed priming approaches.

 Main comments:

1. Introduction: There is only some basic information on onion planting distribution and yield, and there is a lack of information on onion storage and seed vitality issues. Part 2 should be merged with Part 1.

2. part 3: Seed priming: basic principles and technology. Using tables or graphs to show the differences or advantages and disadvantages of different seed priming methods would be better.

3. In Table 1, information on the concentration and duration of the priming agent should be added, as well as the effect.

4. Part 5. Molecular hallmarks: from model plants to Allium crops. Too little information about molecular hallmarks. Are there any new techniques or applications for onions? This information was not covered.

5. Part 6: Commercial use of seed priming. There is nothing new in the content of this paragraph; There was also no comparison of the use of seed priming technologies in different regions;

6. Is Figure 1 authorized? This does not appear to be relevant to this review. What useful information do you want to show? This dirty ground? Or what new technologies, new methods, and new conditions are highlighted?

7. Ref [66] also has nothing to do with the content of this paragraph (Part 6). This is clearly an incorrect reference.

8. Some references are in Chinese, which is obviously not conducive to tracing relevant information. More seriously, much of the content of this review is a direct translation of these references.

 Minor comments:

1. p67, is the most relevant crop in the world production,. Remove the comma.

2. p191, wereas? Whereas.

 

3. Ref [18] has the character shading, please remove them.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The author has comprehensively revised the manuscript incorporating pros and cons of different priming technologies, mode of action of different priming agents and in-depth detailing of molecular events and limitations. Overall, the review written presents good information regarding use of seed priming technologies in onion like crops and piece of information on future challenges in seed priming technologies. 

Author Response

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Reviewer 2 Report

 Accept in present form.

Author Response

We are grateful to the Reviewer for her/his constructive suggestions.

Reviewer 3 Report

The revised version has been greatly improved, but some minor errors still need to be corrected. Figure 1 and Figure 2 are obviously screenshots, and the red wavy lines are still in the pictures, which is absurd. I'm not sure if all the authors have carefully read the first submission and this revision. Images should be exported and then uploaded to a word document.

 

Line 201-204, with a shadow of text visible to the naked eye. The same problem is visible in references, including references 39, 40, 42, 43, etc.

There are other text formatting issues that should be carefully reviewed for revision.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx