title: Dormancy and germination: How does the crop seed decide?
abstract: Whether seeds germinate or maintain dormancy is decided upon through very intricate physiological processes. Correct timing of these processes is most important for the plants life cycle. If moist conditions are encountered, a low dormancy level causes pre-harvest sprouting in various crop species, such as wheat, corn and rice, this decreases crop yield and negatively impacts downstream industrial processing. In contrast, a deep level of seed dormancy prevents normal germination even under favourable conditions, resulting in a low emergence rate during agricultural production. Therefore, an optimal seed dormancy level is valuable for modern mechanised agricultural systems. Over the past several years, numerous studies have demonstrated that diverse endogenous and environmental factors regulate the balance between dormancy and germination, such as light, temperature, water status and bacteria in soil, and phytohormones such as ABA (abscisic acid) and GA (gibberellic acid). In this updated review, we highlight recent advances regarding the molecular mechanisms underlying regulation of seed dormancy and germination processes, including the external environmental and internal hormonal cues, and primarily focusing on the staple crop species. Furthermore, future challenges and research directions for developing a full understanding of crop seed dormancy and germination are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in Southwest China of Ministry of Agriculture, and Department of Biotechnology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in Southwest China of Ministry of Agriculture, and Department of Biotechnology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Y J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in Southwest China of Ministry of Agriculture, and Department of Biotechnology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Shuai
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in Southwest China of Ministry of Agriculture, and Department of Biotechnology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: W G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in Southwest China of Ministry of Agriculture, and Department of Biotechnology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in Southwest China of Ministry of Agriculture, and Department of Biotechnology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Crop Ecophysiology and Farming System in Southwest China of Ministry of Agriculture, and Department of Biotechnology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: W Y
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004777:Environment; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018525:Germination / Q000235:genetics*; D057445:Plant Dormancy / Q000235:genetics*; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012639:Seeds / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010937:Plant Growth Regulators
keywords: Crop seed dormancy; germination; phytohormones; pre-harvest sprouting