Stage-specific analyses of starch and 18 sugars, including pentoses, hexoses, disaccharides, trisaccharides, oligosaccharides and sugar alcohols, were made throughout seed development for zygotic embryo and female gametophyte (FG) tissues of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.). Tissue was most often analyzed in triplicate from two open-pollinated families grown in different locations and sampled in ...

Ghana’s seed sector has undergone some significant changes in the past few years, including the establishment of a new seed law and regulations, the appointment of a National Seed Council, and the emergence of a more diversified commercial seed sector. This paper begins by reviewing the principal elements in Ghana’s commercial seed sector. It then examines three factors that will be critical to...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Seed yield and dormancy status are key components of species fitness that are influenced by the maternal environment, in particular temperature. Responses to environmental conditions can differ between ecotypes of the same species. Therefore, to investigate the effect of maternal environment on seed production, this study compared two contrasting Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype...

Background and aims Short periods of extreme temperature may affect wheat (Triticum aestivum) seed weight, but also quality. Temporal sensitivity to extreme temperature during seed development and maturation was investigated. Methods Plants of 'Tybalt' grown at ambient temperature were moved to growth cabinets at 29/20°C or 34/20°C (2010), or 15/10°C or 34/20°C (2011), for successive 7-d peri...

Angiosperm seed development is a paradigm of tissue cross-talk. Proper seed formation requires spatial and temporal coordination of the fertilization products - embryo and endosperm - and the surrounding seed coat maternal tissue. In early Arabidopsis seed development, all seed integuments were thought to respond homogenously to endosperm growth. Here, we show that the sub-epidermal integument ...

Rohitukine, a chromone alkaloid, possesses anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and immuno-modulatory properties. It has been reported from four species, belonging to the families, Meliaceae and Rubiaceae. Stem bark of Dysoxylum binectariferum (Meliaceae) accumulates the highest amount of rohitukine (3-7% by dry weight). In this study, we examine the spatial and temporal distribution of rohitukine an...

To understand gene expression networks leading to functional properties and compositional traits of the soybean seed, we have undertaken a detailed examination of soybean seed development from a few days post-fertilization to the mature seed using Illumina high-throughput transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq). RNA was sequenced from seven different stages of seed development, yielding between 12 m...

A seed is an intricate structure. Of the two development processes involved in seed formation, seed maturation, or seed program includes accumulation of storage products, acquisition of desiccation tolerance, and induction of dormancy. Little is known about how these processes were originated and integrated into the life cycle of seed plants. While previous investigation on seed origin was almo...

Sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) belongs to the Nelumbonaceae family. Its seeds are widely consumed in Asian countries as snacks or even medicine. Besides the market value, lotus seed also plays a crucial role in the lotus life cycle. Consequently, it is essential to gain a comprehensive understanding of the development of lotus seed. During its development, lotus seed undergoes cell division, e...

The I locus is a 27-kb inverted repeat cluster of chalcone synthase genes CHS1-3-4 that mediates siRNA down-regulation of CHS7 and CHS8 target mRNAs during seed development leading to yellow seed coats lacking anthocyanin pigments. Here, we report small RNA sequencing of ten stages of seed development from a few days post fertilization through maturity, revealing the amplification from primary ...