DELLA repression of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) seed germination can be lifted either through DELLA proteolysis by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway or through proteolysis-independent gibberellin (GA) hormone signaling. GA binding to the GIBBERELLIN-INSENSITIVE DWARF1 (GID1) GA receptors stimulates GID1-GA-DELLA complex formation, which in turn triggers DELLA protein ubiquitination and pr...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Formation of seed banks and dormancy cycling are well known in annual species, but not in woody species. In this study it was hypothesized that the long-lived halophytic cold desert shrub Kalidium gracile has a seed bank and dormancy cycling, which help restrict germination to a favourable time for seedling survival. METHODS Fresh seeds were buried in November 2009 and exh...

Studies were undertaken to elicit information to standardize the optimum dose and soaking period of bio growth regulators in rice seeds, to evaluate the effect of sources and method of application of bio-growth regulators (panchakavya and brassinolide) on organic rice seed during 2003 and 2004 and to assess the quality of rice seeds cv. ADT(R) 45). The results illustrated that, the combined use...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Differences in dormancy and germination requirements have been documented in heteromorphic seeds of many species, but it is unknown how this difference contributes to maintenance and regeneration of populations. The primary aim of this study was to compare the seed bank dynamics, including dormancy cycling, of the two seed morphs (black and brown) of the cold desert halophyt...

Intense selection for specific seed qualities in winter oilseed rape breeding has had an inadvertent negative influence on seed germination performance. In a panel of 215 diverse winter oilseed rape varieties spanning over 50 years of breeding progress in winter-type rapeseed, we found that low seed erucic acid content and reduced seed glucosinolate content were significantly related with prolo...

Seed germination strategies vary dramatically among species but relatively little is known about how germination traits correlate with other elements of plant strategy systems. Understanding drivers of germination strategy is critical to our understanding of the evolutionary biology of plant reproduction.We present a novel assessment of seed germination strategies focussing on Australian alpine...

Despite extensive studies on the roles of phytochrome in photostimulated seed germination, the mechanisms downstream of the photoreceptor that promote germination are largely unknown. Previous studies have indicated that light-induced germination of Arabidopsis seeds is mediated by the hormone gibberellin (GA). Using RNA gel blot analyses, we studied the regulation of two Arabidopsis genes, GA4...

We investigated the prevalence of seed borne fungal pathogens in rice variety BRRI Dhan46 and to evaluate the efficacy of antagonistic bacteria in controlling seed borne disease. A composite sample of BRRI Dhan46 was assayed. Five seed borne fungi viz. Fusarium sp., Bipolaris oryzae, Curvularia sp., Gliocladium sp. and Aspergillus flavus were isolated from the rice seeds. Fifteen probable antag...

The objective of the this study was to compare concentrations of nanosized TiO2 at 0, 5, 20, 40, 60 and 80 mg L(-1) with bulk TiO2 for phytotoxic and stimulatory effects on fennel seed germination and early growth stage. After 14 d of seed incubation, germination percentage highly improved following exposure to 60 ppm nanosized TiO2. Similar positive effects occurred in terms of shoot dry weigh...