A seed coat bedding assay shows that RGL2-dependent release of abscisic acid by the endosperm controls embryo growth in Arabidopsis dormant seeds.

ABSTRACT: Seed dormancy is an ecologically important adaptive trait in plants whereby germination is repressed even under favorable germination conditions such as imbibition with water. In Arabidopsis and most plant species, dormancy absolutely requires an unidentified seed coat germination-repressive activity and constitutively higher abscisic acid (ABA) levels upon seed imbibition. The mechanisms underlying these processes and their possible relationship are incompletely understood. We developed a "seed coat bedding" assay monitoring the growth of dissected embryos cultured on a layer of seed coats, allowing combinatorial experiments using dormant, nondormant, and various genetically modified seed coat and embryonic materials. This assay, combined with direct ABA measurements, revealed that, upon

SUBMITTER: Lee KP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2973907 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature