Alan J. Tessier* and Carla E. Cáceres W.K. Kellogg Biological Station and Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI 49060, USA School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, 515 Morrill Hall, Urbana, IL 61801, USA *Correspondence: E-mail: [email protected] Abstract Dormancy is an ecological strategy by which organisms avoid stressful environments, but it al...

Tumor metastasis can occur years after an apparent cure due to a phenomenon known as metastatic tumor dormancy; in which tumor masses or individual tumor cells are growth restricted for extended periods of time. This period of dormancy is induced and maintained by several mechanisms, including: (1) Tumor microenvironment factors such as cytokine expression, immunosurveillance and angiogenesis; ...

Arabidopsis accessions differ largely in their seed dormancy behavior. To understand the genetic basis of this intraspecific variation we analyzed two accessions: the laboratory strain Landsberg erecta (Ler) with low dormancy and the strong-dormancy accession Cape Verde Islands (Cvi). We used a quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping approach to identify loci affecting the after-ripening requirem...

Dormancy (diapause) is a key life-history strategy of pelagic copepods that allows them to thrive in highly seasonal environments. Successful dormancy of copepodid stages requires the ability to store energy efficiently (for example as lipids) and to slow down the rate of mobilization of this capital during the dormant period. The physiology of lipids in copepods has been extensively reviewed; ...

Abstract In degraded forest ecosystems, reintroduction of keystone-woody species is an important step for restoration because it provides regeneration niches. However, lack information on how to propagate restricts the use native species; specially in tropical dry forests where seed germination seasonal and synchronized with onset wet season. We evaluated dormancy-breaking requirements nine fro...

Seed dormancy is defined as the failure of a viable seed to germinate under favorable conditions. Besides playing an adaptive role in nature by optimizing germination to the most suitable time, a tight control of dormancy is important in crop plants. Extensive genetic and physiological studies have identified the involvement of several factors, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this proce...

Mutants in the rice PLASTOCHRON 3 and maize VIVIPAROUS 8 genes have been shown to have reduced dormancy and ABA levels. In this study we used several mutants in the orthologous gene ALTERED MERISTEM PROGRAM 1 (AMP1) to determine its role in seed dormancy in Arabidopsis. Here we report that there are accession-specific effects of mutations in AMP1. In one accession, amp1 mutants produce seeds wi...

Bacteria show remarkable adaptability under several stressful conditions by shifting themselves into a dormant state. Less is known, however, about the mechanism underlying the cell transition to dormancy. Here, we report that the transition to dormant states is mediated by one of the major toxin-antitoxin systems, RelEB, in a cell density-dependent manner in Escherichia coli K-12 MG1655. We co...

Tumor dormancy is a highly prevalent stage in cancer progression. We have previously generated and characterized in vivo experimental models of human tumor dormancy in which micro-tumors remain occult until they spontaneously shift into rapid tumor growth. We showed that the dormant micro-tumors undergo a stable microRNA (miRNA) switch during their transition from dormancy to a fast-growing phe...

Many tumours undergo periods in which they apparently do not grow but remain at a roughly constant size for extended periods. This is termed tumour dormancy. The mechanisms responsible for dormancy include failure to develop an internal blood supply, individual tumour cells exiting the cell cycle and a balance between the tumour and the immune response to it. Tumour dormancy is of considerable ...