ABSTRACT – Dehydration is a necessary procedure prior to exposing seeds to long term storage, but this is associated

with metabolism-linked injury mediated by cell injury. In order to assess cellular alterations during re-establishment of

desiccation tolerance (DT) in C. fissilis germinated seeds and their relation to DNA damage, we verified the occurrence of

DNA fragmentation through the TUNEL test and its evidence through the cytological analyses. To re-establish DT, germinated

seeds were incubated for 72 h in polyethylene glycol (PEG, -2.04 MPa) before dehydration in silica gel (at 10% moisture

content) followed by rehydration. The moisture content changes during the reestablishment of the desiccation tolerance was

accomplished. (DT)TdT-dUPT terminal nick-end labeling (TUNEL) was used to assess rates of cell death. TUNEL staining

was performed using Click-iT-TUNEL Alexa Flour imaging assay. The TUNEL test showed a consistent DNA fragmentation

in the 2 and 5 mm long radicles. Moreover, nuclear and chromosomal alterations were observed in the 5 mm meristematic root cell cycle, contributing to the identification of diagnostic markers of cell death.

Index terms: cell injury, moisture content, TUNEL test.