Entries by Carlos A. Ordóñez-Parra

Seed enhancement technologies to improve germination and emergence of Australian native Poaceae (Seed Sci. Res.)

January 22, 2021 in /by

One of the most significant limitations in seed-based restoration projects is that some native species exhibit low recruitment in the field. As a result, various seed enhancement technologies (SETs) are being developed to improve germination and seedling emergence by facilitating access to nutrients and water. Moreover, they can include germination-enhancing chemicals (GECs) that help seeds […]

Seed functional traits provide support for ecological restoration and ex situ conservation in the threatened Amazon ironstone outcrop flora (Front. Plant Sci.)

January 15, 2021 in /by

East Amazonian ironstone outcrops host highly diverse plant communities with impressive endemism levels (meaning the plants are found nowhere else), yet they are threatened by large-scale mining operations. As a result, proper conservation and restoration techniques are urgently needed to ensure their future. Zanetti and colleagues provide the first community-wide assessment of seed functional traits […]

Time travelling seeds reveal that plant regeneration and growth traits are responding to climate change (Ecology)

January 15, 2021 in /by

Increasing our understanding of how plants will respond to climate change is one of our most urgent challenges. However, most approaches require extensive historical records that are not available for most areas. In this paper, Everingham and colleagues compare the regeneration and growth traits of plants from seeds that have been stored in ex situ […]

The seed germination spectrum of alpine plants ($) (New Phytol.)

January 8, 2021 in /by

Alpine ecosystems include all the environments found above the treeline, the maximum elevation where trees can grow. These environments are known for their low temperatures, unstable substrates, and short growing seasons. However, while germination studies in this ecosystem can be traced back to the 1930s, our knowledge about its germination ecology remains scattered in multiple […]

Distribution of seed dormancy classes across a fire-prone continent: effects of rainfall seasonality and temperature (Ann. Bot.)

January 8, 2021 in /by

Seed dormancy controls germination so that it occurs under the most suitable conditions. Different dormancy classes achieve this by allowing germination in response to distinct environmental cues. In fire-prone ecosystems, species with physically dormant (PY) seeds benefit from fire since it breaks their impermeable seed coat. In contrast, those with physiological dormancy (PD) respond to […]

Elevation filters seed traits and germination strategies in the eastern Tibetan Plateau (Ecography)

December 18, 2020 in /by

Mountains are extraordinary natural laboratories. They encompass a wide range of environments in a relatively small space, making them ideal for assessing how different environmental variables shape plant traits and communities. Here, Wang and colleagues evaluate how seed functional traits vary along an elevation gradient in the Tibetan Plateau. Seeds of 408 grassland species were […]

Combinations of maternal-specific repressive epigenetic marks in the endosperm control seed dormancy (bioRxiv.)

December 11, 2020 in /by

H3K27me3 [K27 (Lysine 27) trimethylation on histone H3] and H3K9me2 are two epigenetic modifications that repress gene activity in plants. While they are typically present in different genomic regions, both marks are found in the seed endosperm. Here, Sato and colleagues show that this histone modification duo is key to modulate gene activity during germination. […]

The canonical RdDM pathway mediates the control of seed germination timing under salinity ($) (Plant J.)

December 4, 2020 in /by

The canonical RdDM pathway mediates the control of seed germination timing under salinity ($) Epigenetic regulation can ensure that plant developmental programs and stress responses are tightly coordinated so that environmental changes do not compromise plant fitness. One of the mechanisms to achieve this is through RNA-directed DNA Methylation (RdDM), which is known to participate […]

The first dormancy profile for a tropical montane forest community (Plant Biol.) ($)

November 20, 2020 in /by

Seed dormancy is a crucial mechanism to synchronize germination with the most suitable environmental conditions. Therefore, assessing its prevalence at the community level allows us to understand how plants adapt to their local environment. In this paper, Athugala and colleagues build the first dormancy profile for a tropical montane forest community. Eighty species from three […]