Recent Posts

A plant unique ESCRT component functions in peroxisome-mediated lipid droplet turnover

Huang et al. demonstrate a novel role–and the underlying mechanism–for FREE1 in regulating LD turnover. Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac195 Background: Lipid droplets (LDs) are major reservoirs providing energy and lipids for seedling establishment. In vascular  plants, the peroxisome-localized…

Germination and seedling establishment – Let’s get this par-‘T’ started!

Niehaus et al. explore the nucleotide metabolome of germinating seeds By Markus Niehaus1, Henryk Straube1 and Marco Herde1 1Leibniz Universität Hannover, Department of Molecular Nutrition and Biochemistry of Plants Background: All living organisms, including plants, possess DNA and rely on…

Anaerobiosis modulation of two phytoglobins in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and their regulation by gibberellin and abscisic acid in aleurone cells (Plant Physiol. Biochem)

Barley seeds are anoxic, and during germination pathways are induced to allow energy to be obtained without oxygen. Phytoglobins (Pgb) are hypoxia-induced proteins that are involved in energy metabolism during germination through the Pgb-NO cycle, an alternative pathway to fermentation. In the…

Review: Fire-released seed dormancy - a global synthesis (Biol. Rev)

In 1991, Jon E. Keely wrote the first review about the role of fire as a dormancy-breaking cue in California's Mediterranean ecosystems. In this review, almost 30 years after Keely's work, Pausas and Lamont provide us with an updated and worldwide vision of the subject. Four dormancy syndromes and their…

Climate shapes the seed germination niche of temperate flowering plants: a meta-analysis of European seed conservation data (Ann. Bot.)

The seed germination niche is the set of environmental conditions in which a seed can germinate. This collection of requirements is expected to be tuned to the climate each species encounters in its natural habitat, but this hypothesis remains to be formally tested. Here, Carta and colleagues make use…

The MIEL1-ABI5/MYB30 regulatory module fine tunes abscisic acid signaling during seed germination (JIPB)

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a phytohormone that plays a crucial role in the inhibition of seed germination, and the transcription factor ABI5 is the final and common downstream factor that represses germination. Many proteins are known to inhibit ABI5, such as the mediator complex subunit MED25 or other transcription…

The sweet and musky scent of home: biogenic ethylene fine-tunes seed germination in wetlands (Plant Biol.)

Light, temperature, substrate moisture and oxygen availability are renowned germination triggers for wetland species. However, wetlands sediments are a significant source of gases that might shape the species germination behavior, such as ethylene –a renowned germination promoter. Still, little is…

Many roads to success: different combinations of life-history traits provide accurate germination timing in seasonally dry environments ($) (Oiokos)

Ensuring that seeds germinate in the most suitable conditions for seedling establishment is critical for plant fitness, especially in environments where water is not readily available all year. Seed dormancy is considered to be the primary mechanism to achieve this. Still, many other different life-history…

A prion-like protein regulator of seed germination undergoes hydration-dependent phase separation ($) (Cell)

Seed imbibition (i.e., water uptake) marks the beginning of germination, an irreversible process that might lead plants to death if it occurs under unsuitable conditions for seedling development. Therefore, it is expected that seeds only germinate when water is readably available. However, the molecular…