Synchronization of crop seed germination

作物种子发芽同步

• 批准号: BB/S002804/1
• 负责人: George Bassel
• 金额: $ 53.29万
• 依托单位: University of Warwick
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FS002804%2F1
• 关键词: Synchronization; crop; seed; germination

In order to ensure the survival of their offspring, many organisms employ a bet-hedging strategy whereby they produce a large number of progeny having different behavioural characteristics. This approach ensures that a subset of their progeny survive regardless of unexpected fluctuations in their environment. Seed germination in plants also follows this bet-hedging strategy. While seeds are resistant to harsh environmental conditions, seedlings are not, and this makes the correct timing of germination critical for the future survival of plants. Plants have evolved noise-generating mechanisms to create variable behaviour within the individual seeds they produce in order to alter the timing of their germination responses to the environment. In this way at least a fraction of their progeny are ensured survival regardless of future climatic conditions.While this is a powerful adaptive trait for the survival of plants in natural ecological settings, the asynchronous germination of seeds represents an obstacle to agriculture. The vast majority of food production begins with the planting of a seed, and the rapid and uniform establishment of seedlings in the field is key determinant of future yield. Non-uniform germination leaves gaps in the field which increases herbicide use, and asynchronous crop development lowers yield following single-pass mechanical harvesting. Robust and synchronous germination underpins the sale of high quality seed in the £52 billion annual global seed trade. Climate change and variable weather further exacerbates uniformity issues, which continue to persist.This project seeks to uncover the mechanistic basis of variability generation and bet hedging in model and crop seeds, and to leverage this information to synchronise the germination of seed populations. This will be done together with industrial partner Rijk Zwaan through a mutually beneficial interaction.We have previously developed a powerful predictive mathematical model that captures the relationships between hormones in seeds which determine when they germinate. Using this model, the preferential use of alternating temperatures to promote seed germination was accurately predicted (Topham et al. 2017, PNAS). This project will extend the use of this model to identify mechanisms that lead to the creation of variable germination-controlling hormone abundance in individual seeds. By identifying how variability in generated within individual seeds, targeted strategies to mitigate these noise-generating mechanisms will be utilized in order to harmonize the hormone content, and in turn germination, of seed populations. Initial proof of concept studies will be performed in the model species Arabidopsis, and together with Rijk Zwaan this will be extended to the crop species lettuce where agronomically limiting issues in germination synchronization are present. By the conclusion of the project this same germplasm will be modified to have enhanced synchronization in their germination profile.A second aspect to this project involves the development of a vital high throughput germination monitoring system. The expression of genes in individual seeds can be monitored dynamically, and used to predict the future timing of germination following early events. In this way the variability in seed populations can be quantified, and this system can be used to sort seeds having similar germination characteristics. This represents both a powerful scientific tool and agricultural technology to generate populations with synchronized germination behaviour.This project will address a key scientific questions relating to variability and bet hedging which also have a direct and powerful relevance to modern food production systems and industry. Following state of the art modelling and biological approaches and an industrial partnership, the development of strategies and germplasm enhancing the synchronization of crop seed germination will be provided.

为了确保后代的生存，许多生物采用了一种更好的对冲策略，即它们产生了大量具有不同行为特征的后代。这种方法确保了它们的子代在不受环境意外波动的情况下存活下来。植物种子萌发也遵循这一套期保值策略。虽然种子能抵抗恶劣的环境条件，但幼苗不能，这使得正确的发芽时间对植物未来的生存至关重要。植物已经进化出噪音产生机制，在它们产生的个体种子内创造不同的行为，以便改变它们对环境的萌发反应的时间。通过这种方式，无论未来的气候条件如何，至少有一小部分它们的后代能够存活下来。虽然这是植物在自然生态环境中生存的一个强大的适应特征，但种子的异步萌发对农业来说是一个障碍。绝大多数粮食生产都是从播种开始的，而在田间迅速和均匀地长出幼苗是决定未来产量的关键因素。发芽不均匀会在田里留下缺口，这会增加除草剂的使用量，而作物发育不同步会降低单程机械收割后的产量。在每年520亿GB的全球种子贸易中，强劲和同步的萌发为高质量种子的销售奠定了基础。气候变化和多变的天气进一步加剧了持续存在的一致性问题。该项目试图揭示变异性产生的机制基础，并在模型和作物种子中进行套期保值，并利用这些信息来同步种子种群的萌发。我们将与工业合作伙伴Rijk Zwaan通过互惠互利的互动来完成这项工作。我们之前开发了一个强大的预测数学模型，该模型捕获了种子中决定何时萌发的激素之间的关系。使用该模型，可以准确地预测优先使用交变温度促进种子萌发(Topham等人。2017年，PNAS)。该项目将扩展该模型的使用范围，以确定导致在个体种子中产生可变的发芽控制激素丰度的机制。通过确定种子在个体内如何产生变异性，将利用有针对性的战略来减少这些噪音产生机制，以协调种子群体的激素含量，进而协调种子群体的萌发。初步的概念验证研究将在模式物种拟南芥中进行，并将与Rijk Zwaan一起扩展到作物物种生菜，在那里存在发芽同步的农学限制问题。到该项目结束时，同一种质将被修改，以增强其萌发轮廓的同步性。该项目的第二个方面涉及开发一个至关重要的高通量萌发监测系统。个体种子中的基因表达可以被动态监测，并被用来预测早期事件后未来萌发的时间。通过这种方式，可以量化种子种群的变异性，并且该系统可以用于对具有相似萌发特性的种子进行分类。这代表了一种强大的科学工具和农业技术，可以产生具有同步萌发行为的种群。该项目将解决与变异性和套期保值有关的关键科学问题，这些问题也与现代粮食生产系统和工业具有直接和强大的相关性。根据最先进的建模和生物学方法以及工业伙伴关系，将制定战略和种质，加强作物种子萌发的同步性。

项目成果

Cellular and gene expression patterns associated with root bifurcation in Selaginella

• DOI: 10.1101/2022.01.03.474808
• 发表时间: 2022-01
• 期刊: bioRxiv
• 作者: Tao Fang;Hans Motte;B. Parizot;Wouter Smet;Xilan Yang;L. Walker;M. Njo;G. Bassel;T. Beeckman

Figure S1 from Efficient vasculature investment in tissues can be determined without global information

图 S1 来自组织中的有效脉管系统投资可以在没有全局信息的情况下确定

• DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.12085290
• 发表时间: 2020
• 作者: Duran-Nebreda S

Network analysis of Arabidopsis mitochondrial dynamics reveals a resolved tradeoff between physical distribution and social connectivity.

• DOI: 10.1016/j.cels.2021.04.006
• 发表时间: 2021-05-19
• 期刊: Cell systems
• 影响因子: 9.3
• 作者: Chustecki JM;Gibbs DJ;Bassel GW;Johnston IG
• 通讯作者: Johnston IG

Transcripts Expressed during Germination Sensu Stricto Are Associated with Vigor in Soybean Seeds.

• DOI: 10.3390/plants11101310
• 发表时间: 2022-05-14
• 期刊: Plants (Basel, Switzerland)

What is quantitative plant biology?

• DOI: 10.1017/qpb.2021.8
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Quantitative plant biology
• 作者: Autran, Daphne;Bassel, George W.;Chae, Eunyoung;Ezer, Daphne;Ferjani, Ali;Fleck, Christian;Hamant, Olivier;Hartmann, Felix P.;Jiao, Yuling;Johnston, Iain G.;Kwiatkowska, Dorota;Lim, Boon L.;Mahonen, Ari Pekka;Morris, Richard J.;Mulder, Bela M.;Nakayama, Naomi;Sozzani, Ross;Strader, Lucia C.;Ten Tusscher, Kirsten;Ueda, Minako;Wolf, Sebastian
• 通讯作者: Wolf, Sebastian