BACKGROUND AND AIMS Seed dormancy enhances fitness by preventing seeds from germinating when the probability of seedling survival and recruitment is low. The onset of physical dormancy is sensitive to humidity during ripening; however, the implications of this mechanism for seed bank dynamics have not been quantified. This study proposes a model that describes how humidity-regulated dormancy on...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The heterocarpic species Atriplex tatarica produces two types of seeds. In this study, how basic population genetic parameters correlate with seed germinability under various experimental conditions was tested. METHODS Population genetic diversity was ascertained in eight populations of A. tatarica by assessing patterns of variation at nine allozyme loci. Germinability of ...

After-ripening is the mechanism by which dormant seeds become nondormant during their dry storage after harvest. The absence of free water in mature seeds does not allow detectable metabolism; thus, the processes associated with dormancy release under these conditions are largely unknown. We show here that sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seed alleviation of dormancy during after-ripening is assoc...

Citation: Galland M and Rajjou L (2015) Regulation of mRNA translation controls seed germination and is critical for seedling vigor. The control of seed germination capacity is a multi-level molecular process including, epigenetic, transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, and post-translational regulation (Rajjou et al., 2012). Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, a wid...

The Arabidopsis endosperm consists of a single cell layer surrounding the mature embryo and playing an essential role to prevent the germination of dormant seeds or that of nondormant seeds irradiated by a far red (FR) light pulse. In order to further gain insight into the molecular genetic mechanisms underlying the germination repressive activity exerted by the endosperm, a "seed coat bedding"...

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...

Comparative physiological analysis of mutant Arabidopsis seeds under defined environmental conditions was used to analyse the relative contributions of components of peroxisomal beta-oxidation in the control of seed germination potential. The COMATOSE (CTS) and KAT2 loci were shown to play essential roles in regulating germination and establishment potentials, whereas LACS6 and LACS7 loci only ...