Influence of the Testa on Seed Dormancy, Germination, and Longevity in Arabidopsis

Overview

Journal Plant Physiol

Specialty Physiology

Date 2000 Mar 4

PMID 10677433

Citations 290

Authors

I Debeaujon

K M Leon-Kloosterziel

M Koornneef

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The testa of higher plant seeds protects the embryo against adverse environmental conditions. Its role is assumed mainly by controlling germination through dormancy imposition and by limiting the detrimental activity of physical and biological agents during seed storage. To analyze the function of the testa in the model plant Arabidopsis, we compared mutants affected in testa pigmentation and/or structure for dormancy, germination, and storability. The seeds of most mutants exhibited reduced dormancy. Moreover, unlike wild-type testas, mutant testas were permeable to tetrazolium salts. These altered dormancy and tetrazolium uptake properties were related to defects in the pigmentation of the endothelium and its neighboring crushed parenchymatic layers, as determined by vanillin staining and microscopic observations. Structural aberrations such as missing layers or a modified epidermal layer in specific mutants also affected dormancy levels and permeability to tetrazolium. Both structural and pigmentation mutants deteriorated faster than the wild types during natural aging at room temperature, with structural mutants being the most strongly affected.

Citing Articles

Integrated Analyses of the Mechanism of Flower Color Formation in Alfalfa ().

Wen Z, Liu H, Zhang Q, Lu X, Jiang K, Bao Q Metabolites. 2025; 15(2).

PMID: 39997760 PMC: 11857827. DOI: 10.3390/metabo15020135.

Polymerization of proanthocyanidins under the catalysis of miR397a-regulated laccases in Salvia miltiorrhiza and Populus trichocarpa.

Li C, Qiu X, Hou X, Li D, Jiang M, Cui X Nat Commun. 2025; 16(1):1513.

PMID: 39929881 PMC: 11811200. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56864-0.

Temperature-dependent polar lignification of a seed coat suberin layer promoting dormancy in .

Hyvarinen L, Fuchs C, Utz-Pugin A, Gully K, Megies C, Holbein J Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2025; 122(6):e2413627122.

PMID: 39918953 PMC: 11831162. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2413627122.

The PEBP genes FLOWERING LOCUS T and TERMINAL FLOWER 1 modulate seed dormancy and size.

Nadal Bigas J, Fiers M, van der Wal F, Willems L, Willemsen V, Nijveen H J Exp Bot. 2025; 76(4):1049-1067.

PMID: 39827301 PMC: 11850975. DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erae466.

Genome-wide association studies in lettuce reveal the interplay of seed age, color, and germination under high temperatures.

Oh S, Ahn E, Shi A, Mou B, Park S Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):733.

PMID: 39753673 PMC: 11698953. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-84197-3.

References

van Der Schaar W, Alonso-Blanco C, Leon-Kloosterziel K, Jansen R, van Ooijen J, Koornneef M . QTL analysis of seed dormancy in Arabidopsis using recombinant inbred lines and MQM mapping. Heredity (Edinb). 1997; 79 ( Pt 2):190-200. DOI: 10.1038/hdy.1997.142. View

Rerie W, Feldmann K, Marks M . The GLABRA2 gene encodes a homeo domain protein required for normal trichome development in Arabidopsis. Genes Dev. 1994; 8(12):1388-99. DOI: 10.1101/gad.8.12.1388. View

Masucci J, Schiefelbein J . Hormones act downstream of TTG and GL2 to promote root hair outgrowth during epidermis development in the Arabidopsis root. Plant Cell. 1996; 8(9):1505-17. PMC: 161294. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.8.9.1505. View

Marbach I, Mayer A . Changes in Catechol Oxidase and Permeability to Water in Seed Coats of Pisum elatius during Seed Development and Maturation. Plant Physiol. 1975; 56(1):93-6. PMC: 541304. DOI: 10.1104/pp.56.1.93. View

Landry L, Chapple C, Last R . Arabidopsis mutants lacking phenolic sunscreens exhibit enhanced ultraviolet-B injury and oxidative damage. Plant Physiol. 1995; 109(4):1159-66. PMC: 157646. DOI: 10.1104/pp.109.4.1159. View

Marbach I, Mayer A . Permeability of seed coats to water as related to drying conditions and metabolism of phenolics. Plant Physiol. 1974; 54(6):817-20. PMC: 366614. DOI: 10.1104/pp.54.6.817. View

Focks N, Sagasser M, Weisshaar B, Benning C . Characterization of tt15, a novel transparent testa mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Planta. 1999; 208(3):352-7. DOI: 10.1007/s004250050569. View

Deshpande S, Cheryan M, Salunkhe D . Tannin analysis of food products. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 1986; 24(4):401-49. DOI: 10.1080/10408398609527441. View

Bewley J . Seed Germination and Dormancy. Plant Cell. 1997; 9(7):1055-1066. PMC: 156979. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.9.7.1055. View

10.

Leon-Kloosterziel K, van de Bunt G, Zeevaart J, Koornneef M . Arabidopsis mutants with a reduced seed dormancy. Plant Physiol. 1996; 110(1):233-40. PMC: 157714. DOI: 10.1104/pp.110.1.233. View

11.

Devic M, Guilleminot J, Debeaujon I, Bechtold N, Bensaude E, Koornneef M . The BANYULS gene encodes a DFR-like protein and is a marker of early seed coat development. Plant J. 1999; 19(4):387-98. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-313x.1999.00529.x. View

12.

Albert S, Delseny M, Devic M . BANYULS, a novel negative regulator of flavonoid biosynthesis in the Arabidopsis seed coat. Plant J. 1997; 11(2):289-99. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-313x.1997.11020289.x. View

13.

Kuang A, Xiao Y, Musgrave M . Cytochemical localization of reserves during seed development in Arabidopsis thaliana under spaceflight conditions. Ann Bot. 1996; 78:343-51. DOI: 10.1006/anbo.1996.0129. View

14.

Shirley B, Kubasek W, Storz G, Bruggemann E, Koornneef M, Ausubel F . Analysis of Arabidopsis mutants deficient in flavonoid biosynthesis. Plant J. 1995; 8(5):659-71. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-313x.1995.08050659.x. View

15.

Leon-Kloosterziel K, Keijzer C, Koornneef M . A Seed Shape Mutant of Arabidopsis That Is Affected in Integument Development. Plant Cell. 1994; 6(3):385-392. PMC: 160441. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.6.3.385. View

16.

Jofuku K, den Boer B, Van Montagu M, Okamuro J . Control of Arabidopsis flower and seed development by the homeotic gene APETALA2. Plant Cell. 1994; 6(9):1211-25. PMC: 160514. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.6.9.1211. View