For nearly 150 years, researchers from Michigan State University have participated in one of the world’s longest running science experiments.
Periodically, plant biologists unearth bottles full of seeds on campus first buried by botanist W.J. Beal in 1879 to test the longevity of the plants.
After a team took part in the experiment in 2021, a new study is now out with what they discovered this time. Lars Brudvig is one of those scientists, and he joins me now. Thank you for being here.
Interview Highlights
On Beal's seeds
There were initially 50 seeds each of 20 different plant species that were put in this bottle buried by William J. Beal over 140 years ago, and we amazingly still have germinating seeds that are coming out of the soil.
On the significance of the hybrid plant
What we mean by a hybrid is that there were two parents to the plant. All plants have a couple of parents, and one was of one species and one was of a different species. And this is relatively common among plants that they can hybridize in this way. But unbeknownst to Beal, he packed a hybrid Verbascum seed into this bottle over 140 years ago, waiting for us to dig it up in 2021 and learn that fact.
On the next iteration of the Beal seed experiment
In 2040, it'll be really exciting to be the mentor at that stage and help lead the dig and then bring new individuals into the project who can then carry the research forward.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: For nearly 150 years, researchers from Michigan State University have participated in of the world’s longest running science experiments.
Periodically, plant biologists unearth bottles full of seeds on campus first buried by botanist W.J. Beal in 1879 to test the longevity of the plants.
After a team took part in the experiment in 2021, a new study is now out with what they discovered this time. Lars Brudvig is one of those scientists, and he joins me now. Thank you for being here.
Lars Brudvig: Thanks for having me.
Saliby: So, you dug up this bottle from Beal in the spring of 2021. What grew out of the seeds he left behind?
Brudvig: Yeah, so there were initially 50 seeds each of 20 different plant species that were put in this bottle buried by William J. Beal over 140 years ago, and we amazingly still have germinating seeds that are coming out of the soil. What we found was that there were 20 individuals, all of the same "species," but I have to put species in quotes.
They were all for Verbascum seeds. 19 of them were Verbascum blattaria which is moth mullein. One though, interestingly, was a hybrid between Verbascum blattaria and common mullein, Verbascum thapsus. And using molecular tools, we were for the first time able to confirm that we had a hybrid plant present in a Beal bottle.
Saliby: For those who might not know as much about seeds as you, is this something surprising or common that might have happened in the 1800s, with, you know, hybrids of seeds. What is surprising or new about this discovery?
It's just amazing that over 140 years underground, and we still have 20 out of the original 50 Verbascum seeds from this bottle germinating.
Brudvig: We've learned a few things here. First of all, that Verbascum is a champion seed banker. And so, the seed bank refers to seeds that can remain alive and viable, underground in the soil waiting for the right sort of conditions to develop for them to sprout into plants. And it's just amazing that over 140 years underground, and we still have 20 out of the original 50 Verbascum seeds from this bottle germinating. So, that was really exciting. That rate of germination is actually fairly comparable to what previous iterations of the Beal team have seen for about the last half century, so we have kind of remarkable consistency there.
What's new, though, is that we were able to bring these molecular tools to bear to identify this hybrid plant that came out of the 2021 Beal bottle. So, what we mean by a hybrid is that there were two parents to the plant. All plants have a couple of parents, and one was of one species and one was of a different species.
And this is relatively common among plants that they can hybridize in this way. But unbeknownst to Beal, he packed a hybrid Verbascum seed into this bottle over 140 years ago, waiting for us to dig it up in 2021 and learn that fact.
Saliby: As a botanist in the 19th century, Beal was definitely focused on helping farmers with the results of this experiment. Can you speak on how continuing his work today how it's useful and maybe in different ways that maybe he wouldn't have anticipated?
Brudvig: Right. So, William J. Beal was one of the first faculty members at what the time was the Michigan State Agricultural College. And so, like others at the college at the time, there was a heavy focus on learning how to do agriculture better. And so, he set up this experiment to understand the longevity of weedy plant seeds in the soil that farmers would have to contend with in their fields.
And so, this is prior to present day agriculture where we have herbicides, for example, to be able to control weeds, and farmers literally had to hoe the row as weed control. So, this was his original interest driving the study.
Since the initiation of the study, though, the Beal experiment has gained new relevance. And so, we now know that the seeds are viable in the soil all over the world and all kinds of different ecosystems. Some of them are plants of high conservation interest, and so those seeds in the soil may be really important to our efforts to preserve rare plant species. Others may be foes, they may be seeds of invasive species sitting in the soil which may cause ecological problems.
And further we have now a lot of interest in restoring native ecosystems from settings like abandoned farmland, and so the seeds that may be, you know, the weeds in the farm field after farming is finished in an area, that may become the weeds in a restoration project where we may be looking to grow a new forest or regrow a native grassland.
Saliby: Can you speak about what might be next for the experiment? The next iteration should be in 2040. So maybe you'll be part of the team again. But is there anything, planning already happening for it?
In 2040, it'll be really exciting to be the mentor at that stage and help lead the dig and then bring new individuals into the project who can then carry the research forward.
Brudvig: So, this is a really exciting aspect of the Beal experiment. Because the period in between intervals is so long, every 20 years, we unearth a new bottle. We have to simultaneously do a couple of things. We have to carry out the next stage in the research, but at the same time, we have to train the next generation of Beal seed researchers.
And so the 2021 dig was my training phase when I was brought into the team and learned how the process worked, and so on. And in 2040, it'll be really exciting to be the mentor at that stage and help lead the dig and then bring new individuals into the project who can then carry the research forward.
Saliby: Lars Brudvig is a plant biologist at MSU and part of the 2021 team participating in the Beal seed experiment. Thank you for joining us.
Brudvig: Thanks a lot for having me.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
