title: The role of the pod in seed development: strategies for manipulating yield.
abstract: Pods play a key role in encapsulating the developing seeds and protecting them from pests and pathogens. In addition to this protective function, it has been shown that the photosynthetically active pod wall contributes assimilates and nutrients to fuel seed growth. Recent work has revealed that signals originating from the pod may also act to coordinate grain filling and regulate the reallocation of reserves from damaged seeds to those that have retained viability. In this review we consider the evidence that pods can regulate seed growth and maturation, particularly in members of the Brassicaceae family, and explore how the timing and duration of pod development might be manipulated to enhance either the quantity of crop yield or its nutritional properties.
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, PO Box 226, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AP, UK.
authors.forename: Emma J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.affiliation: Plant and Crop Sciences Division, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonirgton Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, UK.
authors.forename: Jeremy A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University of Reading, PO Box 226, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AP, UK.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wagstaff
mesh_terms: D001692:Biological Transport; D019607:Brassicaceae / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D010788:Photosynthesis; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D012639:Seeds / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D009584:Nitrogen