Regulation of Dormancy in Wild Oat Seed

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9728007 Foley Seed dormancy represents a distinct physiological stage of arrested development in the life cycle of almost all plants. Dormant seeds will not grow when germinated under optimum conditions unless they have been exposed for a period of time to certain environmental conditions. Seed dormancy is a profound adaptation of nondomesticated plants to their environment and plant survival in natural and agroecosystems depends heavily upon this trait. This research is aimed at identifying genetic factors that influence dormancy and germination of cereal grain seeds such as wild oat and rice. In the course of this research, rice germplasm with varying degrees of dormancy will be identified and cross-pollinated to produced populations for genetic analyses. A genetic model for dormancy will be developed and molecular markers for genes regulating dormancy identified. The genetic model will serve as a framework to ask more in-depth questions about how genes and environmental factors influence seed germination. Our initial molecular markers will be important tools in cloning genes that control germination and dormancy in greases. Cloning genes will be necessary to understand the fundamentals of seed dormancy and germination.