The Effect of Genetically Based Differences in Seed Size on Seedling Survival in Arabidopsis Thaliana (Brassicaceae)

Krannitz, Pam G.; Aarssen, Lonnie W.; Dow, J. M.

doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1991.tb15207.x

Cited by 63 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Taken together, we have detected natural variation in three major seed growth parameters in Arabidopsis, i.e., mass, size, and growth rate, consistent with previous reports (Krannitz et al 1991;Alonso-Blanco et al 1999). However, although factors that influence seed The graph shows that the observed natural variation in endosperm proliferation is mostly in the frequency of seeds that start proliferating endosperm nuclei.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Natural Variation in the Degree of Autonomous Endosperm Formation Reveals Independence and Constraints of Embryo Growth During Seed Development in Arabidopsis thaliana

et al. 2008

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Seed development in flowering plants is a paradigm for the coordination of different tissues during organ growth. It requires a tight interplay between the two typically sexually produced structures: the embryo, developing from the fertilized egg cell, and the endosperm, originating from a fertilized central cell, along with the surrounding maternal tissues. Little is known about the presumptive signal transduction pathways administering and coordinating these different tissues during seed growth and development. Recently, a new signal has been identified emanating from the fertilization of the egg cell that triggers central cell proliferation without prior fertilization. Here, we demonstrate that there exists a large natural genetic variation with respect to the outcome of this signaling process in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. By using a recombinant inbred line population between the two Arabidopsis accessions Bayreuth-0 and Shahdara, we have identified two genetic components that influence the development of unfertilized endosperm. Exploiting this natural variation, we could further dissect the interdependence of embryo and endosperm growth during early seed development. Our data show an unexpectedly large degree of independence in embryo growth, but also reveal the embryo's developmental restrictions with respect to endosperm size. This work provides a genetic framework for dissection of the interplay between embryo and endosperm during seed growth in plants.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 90%

Natural Variation in the Degree of Autonomous Endosperm Formation Reveals Independence and Constraints of Embryo Growth During Seed Development in Arabidopsis thaliana

et al. 2008

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“…Relatively few loci show significant effects on seed weight in these experiments, and so far none of the corresponding genes have been cloned (Doganlar et al, 2000;Cui et al, 2002;Hyten et al, 2004). In A. thaliana, seed weight can vary up to 3.5-fold among accessions (Krannitz et al, 1991), providing an opportunity for QTL analysis of seed size in this species. AlonsoBlanco et al (Alonso-Blanco et al, 1999) identified 11 loci affecting seed weight and/or length in crosses between the accessions Ler and Cvi, with the larger size of Cvi seeds attributed mainly to faster and prolonged growth of the seed coat and endosperm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

TheAUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 2gene ofArabidopsislinks auxin signalling, cell division, and the size of seeds and other organs

et al. 2006

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Control of seed size involves complex interactions among the zygotic embryo and endosperm, the maternally derived seed coat, and the parent plant. Here we describe a mutant in Arabidopsis, megaintegumenta (mnt), in which seed size and weight are dramatically increased. One factor in this is extra cell division in the integuments surrounding mnt mutant ovules, leading to the formation of enlarged seed coats. Unusually for integument mutants, mnt does not impair female fertility. The mnt lesion also has pleiotropic effects on vegetative and floral development, causing extra cell division and expansion in many organs. mnt was identified as a mutant allele of AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 2 (ARF2), a member of a family of transcription factors that mediate gene expression in response to auxin. The mutant phenotype and gene expression studies described here provide evidence that MNT/ARF2 is a repressor of cell division and organ growth. The mutant phenotype also illustrates the importance of growth of the ovule before fertilization in determining final size of the seed.

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“…Larger seeds often have higher probability of germination (Jacobson 1998;Westoby et al 2002) and seedlings of larger seeds tend to have greater survival and improved performance under a wide range of environmental conditions (Krannitz et al 1991;Westoby et al 1996;Manning et al 2009). Thus, the existence of such variation is puzzling because seed size is expected to have a strong effect on fitness and be under strong stabilizing selection (Silvertown 1989;Manzaneda et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paternal effects inArabidopsisindicate that offspring can influence their own size

et al. 2010

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The existence of genetic variation in offspring size in plants and animals is puzzling because offspring size is often strongly associated with fitness and expected to be under stabilizing selection. An explanation for variation in seed size is conflict between parents and between parents and offspring. However, for this hypothesis to be true, it must be shown that the offspring genotype can affect its own size. The existence of paternal effects would support this hypothesis, but these have rarely been shown. Using a diallel cross among four natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana we show that maternal, paternal and positional effects jointly influence seed size, number and the frequency of seed abortion. We found that seed abortion (%) depends on the combination of maternal and paternal genotypes, suggesting the existence of mate choice or epistatic incompatibility among accessions of A. thaliana. In addition, since paternal genotype explains approximately 10 per cent of the variation in seed size, we propose that A. thaliana's offspring must influence the amount of resources allocated to themselves. Identification of paternal effects in Arabidopsis should facilitate dissection of the genetic mechanisms involved in paternal effects.

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The Effect of Genetically Based Differences in Seed Size on Seedling Survival in Arabidopsis Thaliana (Brassicaceae)

Cited by 63 publications

References 19 publications

Natural Variation in the Degree of Autonomous Endosperm Formation Reveals Independence and Constraints of Embryo Growth During Seed Development in Arabidopsis thaliana

Natural Variation in the Degree of Autonomous Endosperm Formation Reveals Independence and Constraints of Embryo Growth During Seed Development in Arabidopsis thaliana

TheAUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 2gene ofArabidopsislinks auxin signalling, cell division, and the size of seeds and other organs

Paternal effects inArabidopsisindicate that offspring can influence their own size

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