The regulatory network behind maize seed germination: Effects of temperature, water, phytohormones, and nutrients

Seed germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed. It requires suitable conditions and environmental factors. Maize is one of the most important crops worldwide. Germination influences both final maize yield and quality. Seed germination is regulated by a complex gene network. It is also influenced by endogenous(phytohormones and nutrients) and exogenous(temperature and water)inputs, involving molecular networks only partly identified to date. This review describes current understanding of the influence of temperature, water, phytohormones, and nutrients in regulating maize seed germination, and indicates knowledge gaps that should be addressed.

Giving maize an excited start-Effects of dopamine on maize germination

Dopamine(DA)is a neurotransmitter which takes charge of brain activities about memory and self-stimulation behavior in animals.Interestingly,our results suggest that DA could also give maize an“excited state”.The results showed that 1 mmol L–1 DA promoted maize germination by 23.2%significantly,and accelerated the growth rate of roots and shoots by 21.4 and 24.7%,respectively.As we all known,abscisic acid(ABA)is the key hormone involved in seed dormancy.In our research,ABA levels in roots and shoots dramatically decreased by 16.45 and 57.57%,respectively.To further investigate how DA reduces the ABA level in budding seed,we studied ABA synthesis and catabolism pathway.Specific expression of key ABA-synthesis genes,such as ZmNCED1,ZmNCED3 and ZmZEP were down-regulated by DA.Simultaneously,the expression levels of ABA8OX1a and ABA8OX1b which are major transcripts of ABA 8´-hydroxylase in ABA catabolism were up-regulated at least 1.5-and 4.6-fold,respectively.Our results enriched the functions of animal hormones in plants.

Kinetics of the H＋-ATPase from Dry and 5-Hours- Imbibed Maize Embryos in Its Native, Solubilized, and Reconstituted Forms

Membranes undergo recovery upon rehydration in seed germination. Previous work has described that the plasma membrane H＋-ATPase from maize embryos adopts two different forms at 0 and 5 h of imbibition. We investigated how the kinetics of these two forms could be affected by alterations in the plasma membrane （PM）. In comparison to the O-h, PMs from the 5-h imbibed embryos showed changes in glycerophospholipid composition, decrease in leakage, and increase in fluidity. Kinetics of the PM H^-ATPase from 0 and 5-h imbibed embryos showed negative cooperativity, With the removal of the membrane environment, the activity of the enzymes shifted to a more complex kinetics, displaying two enzyme components. Lipid reconstitution produced one component with positive cooperativity. In all cases, enzymes from 0 and 5-h imbibed embryos presented similar kinetics with some quantitative differences. These results indicate that the two enzyme forms have the potential ability to respond to changes in the membrane enyiror^rpent, but the fact that they do not show differences in the native membranes at 0 or 5 h implies that modifications in the membrane are not drastic enough to alter their kinetics, or that they are able to preserve their boundary lipids or associated proteins and thus retain the same kinetic behavior.

A comparison of the toxicity of landfill leachate exposure at the seed soaking and germination stages on Zea mays L.(maize)

To compare the toxicity of landfill leachate exposure at the early stages of seed soaking and germination on maize,a field experiment was conducted to evaluate the physiological aspects of growth,yield and potential clastogenicity of root-tip cells. The maizes were treated with leachate at levels of 2%,10%,20%,30% or 50%（V/V）. First,the change of physiological indexes,including chlorophyll（Chl）,Malondialdehyde（MDA）and Reactive oxygen species（ROS）levels,combined with yield all showed that soaking with leachate,but not germination,generated a greater ecological risk on maize. After a soaking treatment of maize with 50% leachate,the Chl,MDA and ROS levels during a vigorous growth period were 47.3%,149.8% and 309.7%,respectively,of the control,whereas the yield decreased to 68.6% of the control. In addition,our results demonstrated that the leachate at lower levels could promote growth. This is mainly embodied in that the yield of maize treated with 10%leachate at the soaking stage increased to 116.0% of the control. Moreover,the cytological analysis experiment also demonstrated that the ecological risk of leachate still exists in both cases. Furthermore,the gray relational analysis showed that the ear row number and tassel branch number were the major factors affecting the yield of maize treated with 50%leachate at the stages of soaking and germination,respectively. In general,these results are helpful in understanding the phytotoxicity of leachate,which provides additional reference data for risk assessment and management of leachate.