Entries by Carlos A. Ordóñez-Parra

Evidence for physiological seed dormancy cycling in the woody shrub Asterolasia buxifolia and its ecological significance in fire‐prone systems ($) (Plant Biol.)

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Physiologically dormant seeds shift between dormancy (i.e., unable to germinate), conditional dormancy (i.e., germination restricted to a narrow set of conditions), and non-dormancy (i.e., germination under a wide range of conditions) in response to environmental changes. This mechanism –known as dormancy cycling– ensures seeds are non-dormant under favorable germination conditions but become dormant when favorable […]

DRT111/SFPS splicing factor controls ABA sensitivity during seed development and germination (Plant Physiol)

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Abscisic acid (ABA) acts on different plant physiological and developmental processes by quite complex mechanisms. In fact, some of these processes interact with light signaling and some are controlled by alternative splicing. In this paper, Punzo et al. show that DRT111 – a splicing factor previously described in photomorphogenesis – regulates seed responses to ABA. […]

Opinion. Anthropogenic seed dispersal: Rethinking the origins of plant domestication (Trends Plant Sci)

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Studies regarding the development of agriculture have started to integrate a plant evolutionary perspective. In this context, Spengler explores how changes in seed dispersal allowed plant domestication during the first half of the Holocene (e.g., more than 5000 years ago). He starts by redefining domestication as “the evolution of new traits to support a mutualistic […]