The role of seed dormancy and longevity in the annual and perennial life cycles

种子萌发的时间对植物适应环境很重要，并将影响包括开花时间在内的所有后续发育阶段的时间。种子的休眠和寿命等性状决定了种子萌发的时间，并受到种子成熟过程中环境条件的影响。种子休眠和寿命主要是在一年生植物如拟南芥中进行的研究，对多年生植物中的这些特性知之甚少。这个项目的目的是揭示一年生和多年生的生活策略如何影响种子的休眠和寿命等性状。种子休眠和寿命将在几组关系密切的多年生和一年生十字花科植物以及具有不同开花时间的多年生模式植物高山阿拉伯的材料中进行评分。此外，还将通过杂交多年生和一年生的头状刺蒲属植物，对种子性状进行遗传解剖，并对种子和开花性状产生影响。它们在不同十字花科植物种子和多年生性状中的作用将通过表达分析和转基因来确定。我们还将在自然条件下通过在土壤中埋藏种子两年多的时间来研究所选物种的种子性状和种子基因的表达水平。这一项目将为植物适应环境和理解生活史进化提供新的见解。

The time when seeds germinate is important for the adaptation of plants to their environment and will influence the timing of all subsequent developmental phases including flowering time. Seed traits like dormancy and longevity determine the time of germination and are influenced by environmental conditions during seed maturation. Seed dormancy and longevity have mainly been studied in annual plants like Arabidopsis thaliana and little is known about these traits in perennial plants. The objective of this project is to reveal how the annual and perennial life strategies influence seed traits such as dormancy and longevity. Seed dormancy and longevity will be scored in sets of closely related perennial and annual Brassicaceae species and in accessions of the perennial model plant Arabis alpina with different lengths of flowering episodes. In addition, a genetic dissection of seed traits will be performed in relation to life strategies by crossing perennial and annual accessions of Erysimum capitatum.The genes DOG1 and FLC influence seed and flowering traits. Their role in seed and perennial traits of the different Brassicaceae species will be determined by expression analysis and transgenesis. Seed traits and expression levels of seed genes in the selected species will also be studied under natural conditions by burying seeds in the soil for various durations over two years.This project will give new insights in the adaptation of plants to their environment and in our understanding of life history evolution.