title: The mechanism underlying fast germination of tomato cultivar LA2711.
abstract: Seed germination is important for early plant morphogenesis as well as abiotic stress tolerance, and is mainly controlled by the phytohormones abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellic acid (GA). Our previous studies identified a salt-tolerant tomato cultivar, LA2711, which is also a fast-germinating genotype, compared to its salt-sensitive counterpart, ZS-5. In an effort to further clarify the mechanism underlying this phenomenon, we compared the dynamic levels of ABA and GA4, the transcript abundance of genes involved in their biosynthesis and catabolism as well as signal transduction between the two cultivars. In addition, we tested seed germination sensitivity to ABA and GAs. Our results revealed that insensitivity of seed germination to exogenous ABA and low ABA content in seeds are the physiological mechanisms conferring faster germination rates of LA2711 seeds. SlCYP707A2, which encodes an ABA catabolic enzyme, may play a decisive role in the fast germination rate of LA2711, as it showed a significantly higher level of expression in LA2711 than ZS-5 at most time points tested during germination. The current results will enable us to gain insight into the mechanism(s) regarding seed germination of tomato and the role of fast germination in stress tolerance.
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Institute of Facilities Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Engineering, Beijing 100026, China.
authors.forename: Rongchao
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Zhuannan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Haijun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Jinfang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Dianbo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture, Virginia State University, Petersburg, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weeda
authors.affiliation: School of Agriculture, Virginia State University, Petersburg, USA.
authors.forename: Shuxin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: bouy@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.affiliation: College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: yaguo@cau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yang-Dong
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000040:Abscisic Acid / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D017343:Genes, Plant; D005838:Genotype; D018525:Germination / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D005875:Gibberellins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D005875:Gibberellins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D000040:Abscisic Acid; C007842:gibberellic acid
keywords: Abscisic acid; Gene expression; Germination; Gibberellins; Salt-tolerant; Tomato