Regulation of seed germination in the close Arabidopsis relative Lepidium sativum: a global tissue-specific transcript analysis.

The completion of germination in Lepidium sativum and other endospermic seeds (e.g. Arabidopsis [Arabidopsis thaliana]) is regulated by two opposing forces, the growth potential of the radicle (RAD) and the resistance to this growth from the micropylar endosperm cap (CAP) surrounding it. We show by puncture force measurement that the CAP progressively weakens during germination, and we have conducted a time-course transcript analysis of RAD and CAP tissues throughout this process. We have also used specific inhibitors to investigate the importance of transcription, translation, and posttranslation levels of regulation of endosperm weakening in isolated CAPs. Although the impact of inhibiting translation is greater, both transcription and translation are required for the completion of endosperm weakening in the whole seed population. The majority of genes expressed during this process occur in both tissues, but where they are uniquely expressed, or significantly differentially expressed between tissues, this relates to the functions of the RAD as growing tissue and the CAP as a regulator of germination through weakening. More detailed analysis showed that putative orthologs of cell wall-remodeling genes are expressed in a complex manner during CAP weakening, suggesting distinct roles in the RAD and CAP. Expression patterns are also consistent with the CAP being a receptor for environmental signals influencing germination. Inhibitors of the aspartic, serine, and cysteine proteases reduced the number of isolated CAPs in which weakening developed, and inhibition of the 26S proteasome resulted in its complete cessation. This indicates that targeted protein degradation is a major control point for endosperm weakening.

Ethylene interacts with abscisic acid to regulate endosperm rupture during germination: a comparative approach using Lepidium sativum and Arabidopsis thaliana.

The micropylar endosperm cap covering the radicle in the mature seeds of most angiosperms acts as a constraint that regulates seed germination. Here, we report on a comparative seed biology study with the close Brassicaceae relatives Lepidium sativum and Arabidopsis thaliana showing that ethylene biosynthesis and signaling regulate seed germination by a mechanism that requires the coordinated action of the radicle and the endosperm cap. The larger seed size of Lepidium allows direct tissue-specific biomechanical, biochemical, and transcriptome analyses. We show that ethylene promotes endosperm cap weakening of Lepidium and endosperm rupture of both species and that it counteracts the inhibitory action of abscisic acid (ABA) on these two processes. Cross-species microarrays of the Lepidium micropylar endosperm cap and the radicle show that the ethylene-ABA antagonism involves both tissues and has the micropylar endosperm cap as a major target. Ethylene counteracts the ABA-induced inhibition without affecting seed ABA levels. The Arabidopsis loss-of-function mutants ACC oxidase2 (aco2; ethylene biosynthesis) and constitutive triple response1 (ethylene signaling) are impaired in the 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC)-mediated reversion of the ABA-induced inhibition of seed germination. Ethylene production by the ACC oxidase orthologs Lepidium ACO2 and Arabidopsis ACO2 appears to be a key regulatory step. Endosperm cap weakening and rupture are promoted by ethylene and inhibited by ABA to regulate germination in a process conserved across the Brassicaceae.