Effects of environmental variation during seed production on seed dormancy and germination

Penfield, Steven; MacGregor, Dana R.

doi:10.1093/jxb/erw436

Cited by 132 publications

(147 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…However, these result largely from direct changes to maternal [seed coat and fruit] tissues; Penfield and MacGregor, 2017). Results for Polygonum suggest that this view be re-examined, since quantity of seed provisions alone may be a less robust predictor of offspring phenotypes than previously believed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context-Dependent Developmental Effects of Parental Shade Versus Sun Are Mediated by DNA Methylation

2018

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Parental environment influences progeny development in numerous plant and animal systems. Such inherited environmental effects may alter offspring phenotypes in a consistent way, for instance when resource-deprived parents produce low quality offspring due to reduced maternal provisioning. However, because development of individual organisms is guided by both inherited and immediate environmental cues, parental conditions may have different effects depending on progeny environment. Such context-dependent transgenerational plasticity suggests a mechanism of environmental inheritance that can precisely interact with immediate response pathways, such as epigenetic modification. We show that parental light environment (shade versus sun) resulted in context-dependent effects on seedling development in a common annual plant, and that these effects were mediated by DNA methylation. We grew replicate parents of five highly inbred Polygonum persicaria genotypes in glasshouse shade versus sun and, in a fully factorial design, measured ecologically important traits of their isogenic seedling offspring in both environments. Compared to the offspring of sun-grown parents, the offspring of shade-grown parents produced leaves with greater mean and specific leaf area, and had higher total leaf area and biomass. These shade-adaptive effects of parental shade were pronounced and highly significant for seedlings growing in shade, but slight and generally non-significant for seedlings growing in sun. Based on both regression and covariate analysis, inherited effects of parental shade were not mediated by changes to seed provisioning. To test for a role of DNA methylation, we exposed replicate offspring of isogenic shaded and fully insolated parents to either the demethylating agent zebularine or to control conditions during germination, then raised them in simulated growth chamber shade. Partial demethylation of progeny DNA had no phenotypic effect on offspring of shaded parents, but caused offspring of sun-grown parents to develop as if their parents had been shaded, with larger leaves and greater total canopy area and biomass. These results contribute to the increasing body of evidence that DNA methylation can mediate transgenerational environmental effects, and show that such effects may contribute to nuanced developmental interactions between parental and immediate environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context-Dependent Developmental Effects of Parental Shade Versus Sun Are Mediated by DNA Methylation

2018

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“…Tissue to tissue communication in the control of behavioural plasticity is also a theme, with Penfield and MacGregor (2017) focusing on mechanisms by which environmental signals control seed dormancy. While information on fertilization status is communicated from the endosperm to other parts of the ovule and fruit, environmental information is communicated from fruit to seed by means of regulation of FLOWERING LOCUS T expression (Chen et al , 2014).…”

Section: Environment Maturation and Control Of Processes Post-sheddingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed biology – from lab to field

Penfield

2017

Journal of Experimental Botany

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“…The maternal perception of water deficit could potentially cause the modification of seed-coat tissues or the inheritance of maternal epigenetic states (Penfield & MacGregor, 2017). As summarized by Kendall and Penfield (2012) and Penfield and MacGregor (2017) the zygotic perception of temperature has a strong effect on gene transcript levels and gene expression controlling the abscisic acid-gibberellic acid balance of seeds. Puglia, Peruzzi, & Bedini, 2016;Milberg & Andersson, 1998;Milberg, Andersson, & Noronha, 1996), is beside rapid evolution and adaptive plasticity a third way for adapting to variable environments (Seger & Brockmann, 1987).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil water potential and temperature sum during reproductive growth control seed dormancy in Alopecurus myosuroides Huds.

Menegat

Milberg

Nilsson

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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The sustainable management of unwanted vegetation in agricultural fields through integrated weed control strategies requires detailed knowledge about the maternal formation of primary seed dormancy, to support the prediction of seedling emergence dynamics. This knowledge is decisive for the timing of crop sowing and nonchemical weed control measures. Studies in controlled environments have already demonstrated that thermal conditions and, to some extent, water availability during seed set and maturation has an impact on the level of dormancy. However, it is still unclear if this applies also under field conditions, where environmental stressors and their timing are more variable. We address this question for Alopecurus myosuroides in south‐western Sweden. We quantified the effects of cumulated temperature and precipitation as well as soil water potential during the reproductive growth phase of A myosuroides on primary seed dormancy under field conditions. Empirical models differing in focal time intervals and, in case of soil water potential, focal soil depths were compared regarding their predictive power. The highest predictive power for the level of primary dormancy of A. myosuroides seeds was found for a two‐factorial linear model containing air temperature sum between 0 and 7 days before peak seed shedding as well as the number of days with soil water potential below field capacity between 7 and 35 days before peak seed shedding. For soil water potential, it was found that only the top 10 cm soil layer is of relevance, which is in line with the shallow root architecture of A. myosuroides. We conclude that for this species the level of dormancy depends on the magnitude and timing of temperature and water availability during the reproductive growth phase. Water availability appears to be more important during maternal environmental perception and temperature during zygotic environmental perception.

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Effects of environmental variation during seed production on seed dormancy and germination

Cited by 132 publications

References 58 publications

Context-Dependent Developmental Effects of Parental Shade Versus Sun Are Mediated by DNA Methylation

Context-Dependent Developmental Effects of Parental Shade Versus Sun Are Mediated by DNA Methylation

Seed biology – from lab to field

Soil water potential and temperature sum during reproductive growth control seed dormancy in Alopecurus myosuroides Huds.

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