Pioneer plants are adapted to grow in unpredictable environments. These plants have evolved several traits related to seed morphology and germination to cope with this unpredictability. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of plant identity and maternal environment on seed mass and germination of Sinapis arvensis. This study was undertaken with S. arvensis plants grown in fo...

Seeds of many species do not germinate immediately after dispersal, but instead may remain indefinitely in a dormant but viable state. Although it is well established that seeds often exhibit diversified patterns of dormancy and germination, the causes and consequences of this variation remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigate the extent to which seed genotypes of the desert must...

Seeds consist of encapsulated plant embryos in a highly resistant and desiccated state. Seeds enhance plant fitness by allowing plants to withhold their growth until the appearance of appropriate environmental conditions. Thereupon, seeds germinate, allowing the resumption of the plant’s life cycle. However, protection and propagation is not expected per se to confer fitness without germination...

In a series of experiments, seeds from a temperate seagrass species, Zostera nigricaulis collected in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia were exposed to a range of salinities (20 PSU pulse/no pulse, 25 PSU, 30 PSU, 35 PSU), temperatures (13 °C, 17 °C, 22 °C), burial depths (0 cm, 1 cm, 2 cm) and site specific sediment characteristics (fine, medium, coarse) to quantify their impacts on germin...

Seed germination is antagonistically controlled by the phytohormones gibberellic acid (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA). GA promotes seed germination by enhancing the proteasome-mediated destruction of RGL2 (for RGA-LIKE2), a key DELLA factor repressing germination. By contrast, ABA blocks germination by inducing ABI5 (for ABA-INSENSITIVE5), a basic domain/leucine zipper transcription factor repress...

We explore the roles of gibberellin (GA) signaling genes SLEEPY1 (SLY1) and RGA-LIKE2 (RGL2) in regulation of seed germination in Arabidopsis thaliana, a plant in which the hormone GA is required for seed germination. Seed germination failure in the GA biosynthesis mutant ga1-3 is rescued by GA and by mutations in the DELLA gene RGL2, suggesting that RGL2 represses seed germination. RGL2 protei...

Seed germination is the most important transitional event between early stages in the life cycle of spermatophytes and understanding it is crucial to understand plant adaptation and evolution. However, so far seed germination of phylogenetically closely related species has been poorly investigated. To test the hypothises that phylogenetically related plant species have similar seed ecophysiolog...

We have previously described a homeotic leafy cotyledon (lec) mutant of Arabidopsis that exhibits striking defects in embryonic maturation and produces viviparous embryos with cotyledons that are partially transformed into leaves. In this study, we present further details on the developmental anatomy of mutant embryos, characterize their response to abscisic acid (ABA) in culture, describe othe...

Tabernaemontana catharinensis A. DC (Apocynaceae) is used as a medicinal plant by the population. In order to contribute to the safe use of the plant as herbal medicine, this study aimed to morphoanatomically characterize the aereal vegetative organs of T. catharinensis and to evaluate the leaves’ mutagenic and antimutagenic activities. Histological blades of leaves and stem of T. catharinensis...

This study was carried out in the biotechnology laboratory of Agricultural Faculty of Ondokuz May s University. The objective of this study was to establish the effects of chilling period and chilling temperature on germination in linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.). Seeds were subjected to six different heat temperatures (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 C) for 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hours. Germination test...