Coordination of plant reproductive development by hormonal interaction

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In most flowering plants, developing seeds are required for normal fruit (pericarp) growth, and coordination between the embryo, endosperm and seed coat tissues is required for normal seed development. Plants use hormonal signals to coordinate organ and tissue growth and development. As Canadian grown seed and fruit crops are an important source of food for the daily Canadian diet, and an integral part of the Canadian economy, research into the hormonal mechanisms responsible for coordinating growth and development of these tissues is crucial to protecting these seed and fruit crops from variations in climate and environment, and in improving yield. The work outlined in this research program builds on the past five years of research on the role of plant hormones in the coordination of growth and development within seeds, and between seeds and the fruit. In the fruit, our data suggest that seed-derived auxin is an important signal to stimulate gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis and thereby fruit growth. In developing seeds, we found that GA biosynthesis and catabolism is tissue-specifically regulated and correlated with changes in the seed coat, endosperm and embryo over development. In both systems, our work is pioneering in the field and has led to the development of unique working hypotheses to explain the role of hormones in coordination of tissue growth and development. This work will identify mechanisms by which plant tissues communicate using hormonal signals to coordinate and regulate growth. This body of knowledge, in turn, could have substantial impact on progress in solving problems of significant economic importance pertaining to fruit and seed growth and development. Recently application of this knowledge has led to two patent applications and an industry partnership in furthering the applied aspects of this work.