Taking advantage of data compiled over more than forty years by University of Kentucky seed scientists Jerry and Carol Baskin, who were also co-authors on the study, researchers analyzed
seed dormancy data for more than 14,000 species of trees, shrubs, vines and herbs from across the globe.
More than just an insurance policy against late frosts or unexpected dry spells, it turns out that
seed dormancy has long - term advantages too: Plants whose seeds put off sprouting until conditions are more certain give rise to more species, finds in a team of researchers working at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in North Carolina.
«Our results also suggest that the period between
seed dormancy and seed germination is a distinct phase in the plant's lifecycle and that this phase appears to be influenced by the same microRNA systems that govern the plant's maturation and flowering stages,» Huo said.
Seed dormancy gives way to germination; the young plant emerges and grows; and finally in the climax of flowering, a new generation of seeds is produced.
«This provides evidence of a molecular genetic mechanism that is at work, coordinating adaptation of
seed dormancy and flowering traits in the plants to accommodate environmental conditions,» said study co-author Heqiang «Alfred» Huo, a postdoctoral researcher in the Bradford lab.
Pod Maturity,
Seed Dormancy, and After - ripening.
First off, particularly with seed collected in the wild,
seed dormancy is common.
Not exact matches
Depending on what liquid you're using, soaking
seeds may soften the
seed casing, encourage
seeds to break their
dormancy or kill
seed - borne diseases.
Then woody, hard
seed capsules created by many of the plants open, sometimes after years of
dormancy, to release
seeds into a rich bed of ash.
An important clue turned up in 1989, when South African researchers discovered that smoke rouses
seeds of fire - dependent plants from
dormancy.
«Study uncovers how
seeds are kept in
dormancy until the appearance of favorable conditions for germination.»
One of the safeguards to prevent «false starts,» such as premature germination out of season, is provided by the
dormancy of newly made
seeds.
For example, mutant
seeds unable to synthesize ABA lack
dormancy and may even germinate while still attached to the mother plant.
In the plant - model Arabidopsis thaliana, the state of
dormancy is maintained by the endosperm, a single cell layer within the
seed coat surrounding the embryo, which synthesizes and continuously releases ABA towards the embryo.
In rice, the syndrome includes loss of shattering (the
seeds don't break off the central grain stalk before harvest), increase in
seed size, and loss of
dormancy (the
seeds all germinate at once and can be harvested at once).
The team of Luis Lopez - Molina, professor at the Department of Botany and Plant Biology of UNIGE's Faculty of Science, Switzerland, has been interested for a long time in the mechanisms controlling germination, arguably the most critical decision in the life of a plant: «We have discovered that the genes involved in the synthesis of cutin, a waterproof substance, are important for the maintenance of
dormancy in
seeds of Arabidopsis thaliana, a small plant widely used as a model organism to study plant biology.
CUCUMBER
SEEDS - living things, seeds, plants, germination, characteristics of life, respiration, dormancy (K
SEEDS - living things,
seeds, plants, germination, characteristics of life, respiration, dormancy (K
seeds, plants, germination, characteristics of life, respiration,
dormancy (K - 8)