scholarly journals Combinatorial Networks Regulating Seed Development and Seed Filling

Embryogenesis ◽  
10.5772/35960 ◽  
2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming-Jun Gao ◽  
Gordon Gropp ◽  
Shu Wei ◽  
Dwayne D. ◽  
Derek J.
2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard H. Ellis

AbstractThe long-standing hypothesis that seed quality improves during seed filling, is greatest at the end of seed filling, and declines thereafter (because seed deterioration was assumed to begin then), provided a template for research in seed quality development. It was rejected by investigations where seed quality was shown to improve throughout both seed development and maturation until harvest maturity, before seed deterioration was first observed. Several other temporal patterns of seed quality development and decline have also been reported. These are portrayed and compared. The assessment suggests that the original hypothesis was too simple, because it combined several component hypotheses: (a) the seed improvement (only) phase ends before seed deterioration (only) commences; (b) there is only a brief single point in time during seed development and maturation when, in all circumstances, seed quality is maximal; (c) the seed quality improvement phase coincides perfectly with seed filling, with deterioration only post-seed filling. It is concluded that the search for the single point of maximum seed quality was a false quest because (a) seed improvement and deterioration may cycle (sequentially if not simultaneously) during seed development and maturation; (b) the relative sensitivity of the rates of improvement and deterioration to environment may differ; (c) the period of maximum quality may be brief or extended. Hence, when maximum quality is first attained, and for how long it is maintained, during seed development and maturation varies with genotype and environment. This is pertinent to quality seed production in current and future climates as it will be affected by climate change and a likelihood of more frequent coincidence of brief periods of extreme temperatures with highly sensitive phases of seed development and maturation. This is a possible tipping point for food security and for ecological diversity.


2012 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZHENFENG JIANG ◽  
YINGPENG HAN ◽  
WEILI TENG ◽  
YONGGUANG LI ◽  
XUE ZHAO ◽  
...  

SummarySeed filling rate of soybean has been shown to be a dynamic process in different developmental stages affected by both genotype and environment. The objective of the present study was to determine additive, epistatic and quantitative trait loci (QTLs)×environment interaction (QE) effects of the QTL underlying a seed filling rate of soybean. One hundred and forty-three recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from the cross of Charleston and Dongnong 594 were used with 2 years of field data (2004 and 2005). Eleven QTLs with significantly unconditional and conditional additive (a) effect and/or additive×environment interaction (ae) effect at different filling stages were identified. Of them six QTLs showed positive a effects and four QTLs had negative a effects on the seed filling rate during seed development. aa and aae effects of 12 pairs of QTLs were identified by unconditional mapping from the initial stage to the final stage. Thirteen pairs of QTLs underlying the seed filling rate with aa and aae effects were identified by conditional mapping. QTLs with aa and aae (additive×additive×environment) effects appeared to vary at different filling stages. Our results demonstrated that the mass filling rate in soybean seed were under genetic and environmental control.


1992 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. D. Hong ◽  
R. H. Ellis

AbstractNorway maple (Acer platanoides L.) seeds were harvested at different stages of seed development and maturation in 1989–91. As maturation drying progressed, the seed populations showed increasing desiccation tolerance: at 67–69% moisture content, no seeds survived desiccation below 10% moisture content; maturation drying to 55–57% moisture content (values corresponding with the end of the seed-filling phase) improved desiccation tolerance, but nevertheless most seeds were unable to withstand desiccation to 5–7% moisture content; further maturation drying to 27–28% moisture content enabled the seeds to survive considerable desiccation, no loss in viability occurring in seeds dried to 3% moisture content. This considerable improvement in desiccation tolerance after the end of the seed-filling phase was correlated (P<0.05) with the progress of maturation drying and may be associated with the increase in the potential longevity of seeds of other species that occurs during seed development subsequent to seed filling.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanli Du ◽  
Qiang Zhao ◽  
Liru Chen ◽  
Xingdong Yao ◽  
Huijun Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Sucrose is the main photosynthesis product of plants and the fundamental carbon skeleton monomer and energy supply for seed formation and development. Drought stress induces decreased photosynthetic carbon assimilation capacity and seriously affects seed weight in soybean. However, little is known about the relationship between decreases in soybean seed yield and disruption of sucrose metabolism and transport balance in leaves and seeds during the reproductive stages of crop growth.Results Three soybean cultivars with similar growth periods, ‘Shennong17’, ‘Shennong8’, and ‘Shennong12’ were subjected to drought stress during reproductive growth for 45 days. Drought stress significantly reduced leaf photosynthetic rate, shoot biomass, and seed weight. Drought stress changed the distribution of carbon assimilation products in leaves, thus decreasing starch content and increasing soluble sugar content. Drought stress increased the activities of sucrose phosphate synthase, sucrose synthase, and acid invertase enzymes, and up-regulated the expression levels of GmSPS1 , GmSuSy2 , and GmA-INV in leaves. Drought stress decreased the contents of starch, fructose, and glucose in seeds during the late seed filling stages, while it induced sucrose accumulated, which resulted in a decreased hexose-to-sucrose ratio. In developing seeds, the activities of sucrose synthesis and decomposition enzymes and the expression levels of genes related to metabolism were enhanced during early seed development under drought stress; however, under prolonged drought stress, all of them decreased. The expression levels of sucrose transporter genes in seeds were up-regulated under drought stress during early seed development, but down-regulated in leaves and seeds during the middle and late seed filling stages.Conclusion These results demonstrated that drought stress enhances the capacity for unloading sucrose into seeds and activated sucrose metabolism in seeds during early seed development. At the middle and late seed filling stages, sucrose flow from leaves to seeds was diminished, and the balance of sucrose metabolism was impaired in seeds, resulting in seed mass reduction. The different regulation strategies in sucrose allocation, metabolism, and transport during different seed development stages may be one of the physiological mechanisms for soybean plants to resist drought stress.


1992 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Demir ◽  
R. H. Ellis

AbstractChanges in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentumMill.) seed quality were monitored during seed development and maturation in glasshouse experiments in 2 years. The end of the seedfilling period (mass maturity) occurred 35–41 d after anthesis (differing among trusses) in 1989 and 42 d after anthesis in 1990. Seed moisture contents at this developmental stage were 53–72% (wet basis), while the onset of ability to germinate (during 21-d tests at 20°/30°C) and the onset of tolerance to rapid enforced desiccation occurred just before (1990) or just after (1989) mass maturity. In 1989, seed quality was assessed primarily by seedling size in a glasshouse experiment; maximum mean seedling dry weight 25 d after sowing was not achieved until 24–40 d after mass maturity. In 1990, seed quality was assessed primarily by germination following storage; maximum normal germination after 35 d in storage at 40 °C with 14 ± 0.5% moisture content was attained 23 d after mass maturity, but with little difference among seed lots harvested 10 d earlier or up to 30 d later. The results contradict the hypothesis that maximum seed quality is attained at the end of the seed-filling period and that seed viability and vigour begin to decline immediately thereafter.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Fernández ◽  
Guillermo R. Chantre ◽  
Juan P. Renzi

Abstract Lolium perenne L. (perennial ryegrass) shows variable levels of seed physiological dormancy (PD), which depends on the genotype and environmental condition during seed development. To analyse the effect of field temperature and precipitation during seed filling on the PD, two cultivars were sown on five dates in 2014 and 2015. After harvest, the level of seed PD was 4–28%. High-temperature stress (>29°C) in the field during seed development, measured as heat stress units (HSUs), reduced seed PD (increased germination) at harvest. After 9 months of dry afterripening under laboratory conditions, mean dormant seed values were reduced from 15 ± 8 to 8 ± 7%. An increment in the seed PD level reduced seedling emergence in the field. Seed with 20% PD produced only 50% of field emergence, under optimal environmental conditions. Different vigour tests were conducted and each was compared with field emergence. The speed of germination, through the first count at 5 d of the standard germination test, and the shoot length at 10 d were better associated with the seedling establishment in the field. The HSU could be useful to establish a possible PD range in the seed of perennial ryegrass after the growing season. The development of models considering the HSU and other climatic parameters could motivate future studies.


1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 1169 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Reader ◽  
M. Dracup ◽  
C. A. Atkins

Highly variable yields are a weakness of narrow-leafed lupins. Yield variability could be caused by many factors, including hot days during seed filling. This paper investigates the effects of 2 hot days at various stages of seed filling in L. angustifoliusL. cv. Merrit. Exposing adequately watered plants to a total of 6 h at 34, 36, or 38˚C, compared with 20˚C, over 2 consecutive days reduced weight per seed by 4, 8, or 12% at maturity, respectively. The 38˚C treatment, applied when seeds averaged 4% of their final weight, also caused significant seed abortion. High temperatures reduced weight per seed at all stages of seed growth, except when seeds were <5-12 mg dry weight (3 and 6% of final seed dry weight, Expts 1 and 2, respectively). The reductions in weight per seed were not associated with reduced assimilate supply because: (a) neither photosynthesis nor leaf longevity were reduced by heat treatment; (b) competing inflorescences and branches were not allowed to develop; (c) the plants produced very large seeds for this cultivar (174-190 mg); and (d) leaves remained green well after the pods had matured. Seed N concentration decreased and fat concentration increased by small, although statistically significant, amounts in response to heat treatment at the last stage of seed development tested (57% of final weight per seed when treated) but not at earlier stages. This study indicates that hot days with pod temperatures as low as 34-36˚C during seed development can cause reductions in weight per seed, and hence yields, in narrow-leafed lupin crops.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanli Du ◽  
Qiang Zhao ◽  
Liru Chen ◽  
Xingdong Yao ◽  
Huijun Zhang ◽  
...  

Sucrose is the main photosynthesis product of plants and the fundamental carbon skeleton monomer and energy supply for seed formation and development. Drought stress induces decreased photosynthetic carbon assimilation capacity, and seriously affects seed weight in soybean. However, little is known about the relationship between decreases in soybean seed yield and disruption of sucrose metabolism and transport balance in leaves and seeds during the reproductive stages of crop growth. Three soybean cultivars with similar growth periods, “Shennong17”, “Shennong8”, and “Shennong12”, were subjected to drought stress during reproductive growth for 45 days. Drought stress significantly reduced leaf photosynthetic rate, shoot biomass, and seed weight by 63.93, 33.53, and 41.65%, respectively. Drought stress increased soluble sugar contents, the activities of sucrose phosphate synthase, sucrose synthase, and acid invertase enzymes, and up-regulated the expression levels of GmSPS1, GmSuSy2, and GmA-INV, but decreased starch content by 15.13% in leaves. Drought stress decreased the contents of starch, fructose, and glucose in seeds during the late seed filling stages, while it induced sucrose accumulation, which resulted in a decreased hexose-to-sucrose ratio. In developing seeds, the activities of sucrose synthesis and degradation enzymes, the expression levels of genes related to metabolism, and the expression levels of sucrose transporter genes were enhanced during early seed development under drought stress; however, under prolonged drought stress, all of them decreased. These results demonstrated that drought stress enhances the capacity for unloading sucrose into seeds and activated sucrose metabolism during early seed development. At the middle and late seed filling stages, sucrose flow from leaves to seeds was diminished, and the balance of sucrose metabolism was impaired in seeds, resulting in seed mass reduction. The different regulation strategies in sucrose allocation, metabolism, and transport during different seed development stages may be one of the physiological mechanisms for soybean plants to resist drought stress.


1993 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 247-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Demir ◽  
R. H. Ellis

AbstractMarrow (Cucurbita pepo L.) seed quality was monitored during seed development and maturation in 2 years. Mass maturity (end of the seed-filling phase) was attained 61–63 d and 54 d after anthesis in 1989 and 1990, respectively, when seed moisture contents had declined to 40–48% (wet basis). Considerable dormancy was encountered during standard germination tests, but was overcome by decoating the seeds. The ability of dried, decoated seeds to germinate normally in standard tests reached near maximal values shortly after mass maturity; these values were more or less maintained in seeds from subsequent harvests. Maximum seed longevity in air-dry storage was detected in seeds harvested 24 d (1989) and 26–31 d (1990) after mass maturity. Seedling dry weights 15 d after sowing were greatest for seeds harvested 2–22 d (basal fruits) or 14 d (apical fruits) after mass maturity in 1989, and were positively correlated (P<0.01) with times from seedling emergence to seedling harvest. Consequently in the subsequent year the hypothesis that these differences in seedling dry weight were solely due to differences in times from sowing to emergence was tested (and confirmed). Seedling relative growth rates did not differ with seed harvest date (P>0.25) in 1990, but absolute seedling size did (P<0.005); seeds harvested 21–31 d after mass maturity had the greatest seedling weight and also growth rate (in absolute terms) at any one time after sowing. Decline in seed quality (when assessed by both potential seed longevity and seedling growth) was not detected until the final harvest interval in 1990 (85–90 d after anthesis, 31–36 d after mass maturity). These results for marrow contradict both aspects of the general hypothesis that seed quality is maximal at the end of the seed-filling phase and that viability and vigour begin to decline thereafter.


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