Germination of Bacillus anthracis Sterne and plasmidless Delta-Sterne endospores was dramatically enhanced in RAW264.7 macrophage-like cells, while germination of nonpathogenic Bacillus endospores was not. Elimination of gerS, a germinant receptor locus, caused a complete loss of cell-enhanced germination, implicating gerS in the breaking of endospore dormancy in vivo.

Klebs (12) reported in 1914 that the growth of beach, oak, ash, and hornbeam could be maintained even in winter if they were placed under continuous electric light. Since Klebs' report on the effect of day length on the growth of woody plants, there have been many studies pertaining to photoperiodism and dormancy in woody plants. They were amply reviewed by Samish (21), Wareing (24,26), and Nit...

Eryngium maritimum is a coastal plant of the Apiaceae family. This species is threatened in several countries where it reaches the northern limits of its distribution area. Existing populations in the Baltic Region and Scandinavia are potentially affected by the low efficiency of its generative reproduction. We studied physiological aspects of its germination and dormancy breaking requirements ...

Dormant Arabidopsis seeds require stratification and light for germination. To study gene expression during establishment, maintenance and release of dormancy, various Arabidopsis ecotypes that are different in their degree of dormancy were investigated; three nsm mutants that lack the stratification-dependency, and the precocious germination and reduced dormancy of the abi3-1 mutant (insensiti...

Yellow-cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis [D. Don] Spach) seeds exhibit prolonged coat-imposed dormancy following their dispersal from the parent plant. Analyses were undertaken using S-(+)-[(3)H] abscisic acid (ABA) to monitor the capacity of embryos to metabolize ABA following their isolation from seeds subjected to various dormancy-breaking and control treatments. Radiolabelled phaseic acid (...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The water-impermeable seeds of Ipomoea lacunosa undergo sensitivity cycling to dormancy breaking treatment, and slits are formed around bulges adjacent to the micropyle during dormancy break, i.e. the water gap opens. The primary aim of this research was to identify the mechanism of slit formation in seeds of this species. METHODS Sensitive seeds were incubated at various ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Exogenous ethylene has recently gained commercial interest as a sprouting inhibitor of onion bulbs. The role of ethylene in dormancy and sprouting of onions, however, is not known. METHODS A cultivar (Allium cepa 'Copra') with a true period of dormancy was used. Dormant and sprouting states of onion bulbs were treated with supposedly saturating doses of ethylene or with th...