On the significance of mechanosensing for seed development and maturation

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Mechanosensing describes the process whereby physical forces act as the trigger for a developmental event. For example, a subtle touch or wind can induce morphological changes. Another example relates to embryogenesis of Brassicaceae: when the expanding embryo within a seed makes contact with the embryosac wall, it starts to bend and fold. Own previous findings let us suggest that mechanical constraints have additional effects on seed development, namely as signal to the embryo to switch from growth into maturation, replacing organ expansion with the accumulation of seed storage products (storage oils and proteins). This project will test the significance of mechanosensing for the regulation of the structural, metabolic and molecular responses to physical restraint in embryos of oilseed rape (Brassica napus). Developing embryos, growing under spatially restricted and non-restricted conditions, will be analysed by (1) non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (for continuous three-dimensional monitoring of embryo growth and oil deposition), (2) Fourier-Transform-Infrared-microscopy (for detecting tissue gradients in hormones, sugars and other metabolic intermediates), (3) metabolite profiling (LC/MS) and (4) transcript profiling (RNASeq). Ultimately, this project aims to define the functional significance of mechanosensing for seeds. The exploration of a mechanistic link between a physical constraint to growth, metabolic switches and seed/embryo maturation would be of high interest to a wide scientific audience, and could open new avenues for crop seed improvement.