The resting bacterial spore is characterized by its unique resistance to destruction by high temperatures and the inability to take up stain. However, when incubated in the proper nutrient medium, it rapidly undergoes several changes without loss of viability. -These changes, collectively known as germination, include, among others, loss of heat resistance, ability to take up stain, decrease in...

BEM46 proteins are evolutionarily conserved, but their functions remain elusive. We reported previously that the BEM46 protein in Neurospora crassa is targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and is essential for ascospore germination. In the present study, we established a bem46 knockout strain of N. crassa. This Δbem46 mutant exhibited a level of ascospore germination lower than that of the...

Seed germination and subsequent seedling growth define crucial steps for entry into the plant life cycle. For those events to take place properly, seed developmental genes need to be silenced whereas vegetative growth genes are activated. Chromatin structure is generally known to play crucial roles in gene transcription control. However, the transition between active and repressive chromatin st...

The process of nucleolar vacuolation has been quantitatively studied in root cells of the embryo of Zea mays. During germination, we have estimated the percentage of vacuolated nucleoli, the number of vacuoles per nucleolus and the volume density of the vacuoles, the latter by application of the stereological principles of morphometry. In the dormant embryo, no vacuoles can be detected in the n...

Seed aging is a process that results in a delayed germination, a decreased germination percentage, and finally a total loss of seed viability. However, the mechanism of seed aging is poorly understood. In the present study, Yliangyou 2 hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.) seeds were artificially aged at 100% relative humidity and 40°C, and the effect of artificial aging on germination, germination tim...

Germination from the soil seed bank (SSB) is an important determinant of species composition in tropical forest gaps, with seed persistence in the SSB allowing trees to recruit even decades after dispersal. The capacity to form a persistent SSB is often associated with physical dormancy, where seed coats are impermeable at the time of dispersal. Germination literature often speculates, without ...

The effectiveness of a frugivore as a disperser of a plant is greatly determined by how fruits and seeds are handled in its mouth and its digestive tract. Although a number of studies have investigated the effect of avian ingestion on germination, we still know very little about the modifications to seeds during ingestion and the specific consequences on plant fitness. Here we investigate for t...

Hydrogen peroxide was initially recognized as a toxic molecule that causes damage at different levels of cell organization and thus losses in cell viability. From the 1990s, the role of hydrogen peroxide as a signaling molecule in plants has also been discussed. The beneficial role of H2O2 as a central hub integrating signaling network in response to biotic and abiotic stress and during develop...

Pyrethrum is a perennial daisy grown commercially for the insecticide that is extracted from its flowers. In order to evaluate germination and seedling growth of pyrethrum under different temperature and drought stress treatments, an experiment was conducted in seed technology laboratory of Faculty of Agriculture of Islamic Azad University of Isfahan branch in 2018. During this experiment, poly...