Controlling the longevity of seeds

August 18, 2017

Contributing to the development of long-lived seeds with high germinability

Seed priming is a commercially used technique for improving seed germinability, but the treatment reduces seed longevity. Collaborative research by RIKEN CSRS, Tottori University and Utsunomiya University has revealed that the plant hormone brassinosteroid is involved in the reduction of seed longevity after priming.

Researchers found that an Arabidopsis accession called Est-1 retained relatively longer longevity after priming if compared with the reference accession Col-0. A comparative expression analysis of the two accessions revealed that brassinosteroid was involved in reducing post-priming seed longevity. Brassinosteroid treatment during priming promoted the reduction in seed longevity. Conversely, seeds of mutants with reduced endogenous brassinosteroid levels and seeds treated with a brassinosteroid biosynthesis inhibitor suppressed the reduction in seed longevity that accompanies priming. These results showed that brassinosteroid is one of the factors that reduce seed longevity. Researchers also found that increased permeability of the seed coat induced by brassinosteroid contributed to the reduction in seed longevity after priming.

These results will contribute to the development of new priming techniques to produce seeds with higher germination performance and storability.

Original article

Scientific Reports doi:10.1038/s41598-017-08116-5

N. Sano, J.-S. Kim, Y. Onda, T. Nomura, K. Mochida, M. Okamoto, M. Seo,

"RNA-Seq using bulked recombinant inbred line populations uncovers the importance of brassinosteroid for seed longevity after priming treatments".

Contact

Mitsunori Seo; Unit Leader

Naoto Sano; Postdoctoral Researcher

Dormancy and Adaptation Research Unit