BACKGROUND AND AIMS Previous studies have suggested that the drying conditions routinely used by genebanks may not be optimal for subsequent seed longevity. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of hot-air drying and low-temperature drying on subsequent seed longevity for 20 diverse rice accessions and to consider how factors related to seed production history might influence the resu...

Seed performance after dispersal is highly dependent on parental environmental cues, especially during seed formation and maturation. Here we examine which environmental factors are the most dominant in this respect and whether their effects are dependent on the genotypes under investigation. We studied the influence of light intensity, photoperiod, temperature, nitrate, and phosphate during se...

Abstract The fundamental deteriorative processes that lead to loss of seed viability contrastingly vary between desiccation insensitive (orthodox) and sensitive seeds (recalcitrant). Orthodox which undergo maturation drying are bestowed with protective mechanisms guard the against deterioration. They include accumulation antioxidants, non-reducing sugars, proteins such as late embryogenesis abu...

The seed constitutes the main vector of plant propagation and it is a critical development stage with many specificities. Seed longevity is a major challenge for the conservation of plant biodiversity and for crop success. Seeds possess a wide range of systems (protection, detoxification, repair) allowing them to survive in the dry state and to preserve a high germination ability. Therefore, th...

Atmaturation, seeds generally becomedormant and desiccation tolerant; after dormancy breaks, the seeds remain quiescent for an indefinite period and will germinate only when providedwith adequatemoisture. Some seeds remain in this quiescent state for thousands of years, only to germinate under the right conditions, while other seeds fail to germinate after extendedstorage.Howdosomeseedssurvive ...

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Seed longevity and persistence in soil seed banks may be especially important for population persistence in ecosystems where opportunities for seedling establishment and disturbance are unpredictable. The fire regime, an important driver of population dynamics in sagebrush steppe ecosystems, has been altered by exotic annual grass invasion. Soil seed banks may play an activ...

The formation of abnormal amino acid residues is a major source of spontaneous age-related protein damage in cells. The protein l-isoaspartyl methyltransferase (PIMT) combats protein misfolding resulting from l-isoaspartyl formation by catalyzing the conversion of abnormal l-isoaspartyl residues to their normal l-aspartyl forms. In this way, the PIMT repair enzyme system contributes to longevit...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Broad surveys have detected inverse relationships between seed and adult longevity and between seed size and adult longevity. However, low and unpredictable precipitation is also associated with seed bank (SB) expression in semi-arid and arid areas. The relationship between adult longevity, SB formation, seed mass and aridity is examined in annual and perennial herbs of Chae...

Seed longevity, a fundamental plant trait for ex situ conservation and persistence in the soil of many species, varies across populations and generations that experience different climates. Mondoni et al. (pp. 1257–1263) study seeds from alpine and lowland populations of Silene vulgaris and show that seed longevity has a genetic basis but may show strong adaptive responses, which are associated...

In seeds, desiccation tolerance (DT) and the ability to survive the dry state for prolonged periods of time (longevity) are two essential traits for seed quality that are consecutively acquired during maturation. Using transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling together with a conditional-dependent network of global transcription interactions, we dissected the maturation events from the end of se...