Plant embryogenesis creates a seedling with a basic body plan. Post-embryonically the seedling elaborates with a lifelong ability to develop new tissues and organs. As a result asymmetric cell divisions serve essential roles during embryonic and postembryonic development to generate cell diversity. This review highlights selective cases of asymmetric division in the model plant Arabidopsis thal...

The seed of oilseed plants, including Arabidopsis and several crop species, such as soybean, sunflower, and canola, contain a major store of oil in the form of triacylglycerol (TAG), which provides carbon and energy for seed germination and seedling growth. During germination and seedling development, TAG stored in oil bodies is broken down into fatty acids through the action of lipases. Fatty ...

Arabidopsis seedling photomorphogenesis involves two antagonistically acting components, COP1 and HY5. COP1 specifically targets HY5 for degradation via the 26S proteasome in the dark through their direct physical interaction. Little is known regarding how light signals perceived by photoreceptors are transduced to regulate COP1. Arabidopsis has two related cryptochromes (cry1 and cry2) mediati...

This study evaluates how preference by a generalist slug herbivore Arion subfuscus changes inversely with seedling size across three levels of fertilization for three full-sib families of willow seedlings. We analyzed seedlings for condensed tannin and protein concentration, and related these data to changes in palatability. In preference tests over time, leaf discs from more fertilized seedlin...

CHD3 is one of the chromatin-remodeling factors that contribute to controlling the expression of genes associated with plant development. Loss-of-function mutants display morphological and growth defects. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying CHD3 regulation of plant development remain unclear. In this study, a rice CHD3 protein, CHR729, was identified. The corresponding mutant line (t48...

BACKGROUND The plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) regulates diverse processes of plant growth and development. It has recently been proposed that GCR2 functions as a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) for ABA. However, the structural relationships and functionality of GCR2 have been challenged by several independent studies. A central question in this controversy is whether gcr2 mutants are insen...

Sugars such as sucrose serve dual functions as transported carbohydrates in vascular plants and as signal molecules that regulate gene expression and plant development. Sugar-mediated signals indicate carbohydrate availability and regulate metabolism by co-coordinating sugar production and mobilization with sugar usage and storage. Analysis of mutants with altered responses to sucrose and gluco...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS To improve the management of grass communities, early plant development was compared in three species with contrasting growth forms, a caespitose (Lolium perenne), a rhizomatous (Poa pratensis) and a caespitose-stoloniferous species (Agrostis stolonifera). METHODS Isolated seedlings were grown in a glasshouse without trophic constraints for 37 d (761 degrees Cd). The appea...

The phytochrome family of red (R) and far-red (FR) light receptors (phyA-phyE in Arabidopsis) play important roles throughout plant development and regulate elongation growth during de-etiolation and under light. Phytochromes regulate growth through interaction with the phytohormones gibberellin, auxin, and brassinosteroid. Recently it has been established that jasmonic acid (JA), a phytohormon...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate various developmental programs of plants. This review focuses on miRNA involvement in early events of plant development, such as seed germination, seedling development and the juvenile to adult phase transition. miR159 and miR160 are involved in the regulation of seed germination through their effects on the sensitivity of seeds to ABA. miR156 and miR172 play critica...