Global Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Molecular Mechanism Underlying Seed Physical Dormancy Formation in <i>Medicago sativa</i>.

ABSTRACT: Seed physical dormancy, also known as hard-seededness, is a characteristic commonly found in higher plants, which functions to prevent water and oxygen from passing through the impermeable seed coat. Background: Notably, seed dormancy has emerged as a critical factor in the domestication of leguminous plants. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a globally cultivated high-quality legume forage crop, while the seeds from different varieties maintain varying degrees of hard-seededness. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying physical dormancy in alfalfa seeds remain poorly understood. In particular, the regulatory mechanisms at the transcriptomic level remain unclear, which has hindered the breeding process of varieties with low hard-seededness. Methods: In this study, w

SUBMITTER: Li H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12732859 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature