Is Gene Transcription Involved in Seed Dry After-Ripening?

Abstract

Orthodox seeds are living organisms that survive anhydrobiosis and may display dormancy, an inability to germinate at harvest. Seed germination potential can be acquired during a prolonged period of dry storage called after-ripening. The aim of this work was to determine if gene transcription is an underlying regulatory mechanism for dormancy alleviation during after-ripening. To identify changes in gene transcription strictly associated with the acquisition of germination potential but not with storage, we used seed storage at low relative humidity that maintains dormancy as control. Transcriptome profiling was performed using DNA microarray to compare change in gene transcript abundance between dormant (D), after-ripened non-dormant (ND) and after-ripened dormant seeds (control, C). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to confirm gene expression. Comparison between D and ND showed the differential expression of 115 probesets at cut-off values of two-fold change (p<0.05). Comparisons between both D and C with ND in transcript abundance showed that only 13 transcripts, among 115, could be specific to dormancy alleviation. qPCR confirms the expression pattern of these transcripts but without significant variation between conditions. Here we show that sunflower seed dormancy alleviation in the dry state is not related to regulated changes in gene expression.

Germination Potential of Dormant and Nondormant Arabidopsis Seeds Is Driven by Distinct Recruitment of Messenger RNAs to Polysomes

“…Simplified model showing the dynamics of transcript association with polysomes and their related GO categories during germination or dormancy maintenance at 25˚C. In the dry state, dormancy release occurs during after-ripening, but the stored mRNAs are roughly similar in both categories of seeds (Meimoun et al, 2014). Imbibition results in the transcription of genes specifically associated with dormant (D) and nondormant (ND) seeds, while a pool of mRNA is similar in dormant and nondormant seeds (nondifferentially expressed mRNA and stored mRNA).…”

Elicitor induction of defence genes and reduction of bacterial canker in kiwifruit

“…Of the 18 genes tested, 9 genes (CHS, PIRL5, LRR protein, MAPKKK, RLK, Chitinase, TLP, TIR-NBS-LRR and Acyl lipidase) did not show any marked increase or decrease in expression with any of the treatments, and did not exceed the commonly used cut-off of ± 2-fold changes in differential expression (Mosqueira et al 2012;Meimoun et al 2014;Damian-Zamacona et al 2016), so are not presented here.…”

Combined transcriptome and translatome analyses reveal a role for tryptophan‐dependent auxin biosynthesis in the control of DOG1‐dependent seed dormancy

“…Seed dormancy can be relieved by after-ripening, which refers to a period of seed dry storage after seed harvest. During this period, transcription and metabolism are limited, because of the low moisture content and small nuclear size caused by chromatin condensation (Fait et al, 2006;van Zanten et al, 2011;Gao et al, 2013;Meimoun et al, 2014). Dry dormant and after-ripened seeds hardly show any difference in transcript patterns; however, transcriptional changes become visible when the seeds imbibe (Cadman et al, 2006;Finch-Savage et al, 2007).…”