Heat shock protein 70 is associated with duration of cell proliferation in early pod development of soybean.

Pod is an important organ for seed production in soybean. Pod size varies among soybean cultivars, but the mechanism is largely unknown. Here we reveal one of the factors for pod size regulation.

Mechanism of delayed seed germination caused by high temperature during grain filling in rice (Oryza sativa L.).

High temperature during grain filling considerably reduces yield and quality in rice (Oryza sativa L.); however, how high temperature affects seed germination of the next generation is not yet well understood. Here, we report that seeds from plants exposed to high temperature during the grain filling stage germinated significantly later than seeds from unstressed plants.

Effect of Seedling Nitrogen Condition on Subsequent Vegetative Growth Stages and Its Relationship to the Expression of Nitrogen Transporter Genes in Rice.

Nitrogen (N) deficiency is one of the most common problems in soils, limiting crop growth and production. However, the effects of N limitation in seedlings on vegetative growth remain poorly understood. Here, we show that N limitation in rice seedlings restricted vegetative growth but not yield.

Mechanisms of Maturation and Germination in Crop Seeds Exposed to Environmental Stresses with a Focus on Nutrients, Water Status, and Reactive Oxygen Species.

Environmental stresses can reduce crop yield and quality considerably. Plants protect cell metabolism in response to abiotic stresses at all stages of their life cycle, including seed production. As the production of vigorous seeds is important to both yield and crop growth, we analyzed causes of yield loss and reduced grain quality in staple crops exposed to environmental stresses such as drought and temperature extremes, with a focus on the remobilization of nutrients and water status during seed filling.

Reactive oxygen species induced by heat stress during grain filling of rice (Oryza sativa L.) are involved in occurrence of grain chalkiness.

Heat stress during grain filling increases rice grain chalkiness due to increased activity of α-amylase, which hydrolyzes starch. In rice and barley seeds, reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced after imbibition induce α-amylase activity via regulation of gibberellin (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA) levels during seed germination. Here, we examined whether ROS is involved in induction of grain chalkiness by α-amylase in developing rice grains under heat stress.

Effects of light quality on pod elongation in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) and cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.).

Soybean pods are located at the nodes, where they are in the shadow, whereas cowpea pods are located outside of the leaves and are exposed to sunlight. To compare the effects of light quality on pod growth in soybean and cowpea, we measured the length of pods treated with white, blue, red or far-red light. In both species, pods elongated faster during the dark period than during the light period in all light treatments except red light treatment in cowpea.

The Interrelationship between Abscisic Acid and Reactive Oxygen Species Plays a Key Role in Barley Seed Dormancy and Germination.

Seed dormancy is one of the adaptive responses in the plant life cycle and an important agronomic trait. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) release seed dormancy and promote seed germination in several cereal crops; however, the key regulatory mechanism of ROS-mediated seed dormancy and germination remains controversial. Here, we focused on the relationship between hydrogen peroxide (a ROS) and abscisic acid (ABA) in dormant and non-dormant barley seeds.

Role of reactive oxygen species produced by NADPH oxidase in gibberellin biosynthesis during barley seed germination.

NADPH oxidase catalyzes the production of the superoxide anion (O2(-)), a reactive oxygen species (ROS), and regulates the germination of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Diphenyleneiodonium (DPI) chloride, an NADPH oxidase inhibitor, delayed barley germination, and exogenous H2O2 (an ROS) partially rescued it.

Nitrogen redistribution and its relationship with the expression of GmATG8c during seed filling in soybean.

It is well known that some nitrogen in the vegetative organs is redistributed to the seeds during seed filling in soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merrill). This redistribution is considered to affect the seed yield of soybean.

A Role for Reactive Oxygen Species Produced by NADPH Oxidases in the Embryo and Aleurone Cells in Barley Seed Germination.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) promote the germination of several seeds, and antioxidants suppress it. However, questions remain regarding the role and production mechanism of ROS in seed germination. Here, we focused on NADPH oxidases, which produce ROS.

Programmed cell death in barley aleurone cells is not directly stimulated by reactive oxygen species produced in response to gibberellin.

The cereal aleurone layer is a secretory tissue that produces enzymes to hydrolyze the starchy endosperm during germination. We recently demonstrated that reactive oxygen species (ROS), produced in response to gibberellins (GA), promoted GAMyb expression, which induces α-amylase expression in barley aleurone cells. On the other hand, ROS levels increase during programmed cell death (PCD) in barley aleurone cells, and GAMyb is involved in PCD of these cells.

Assimilate translocation and expression of sucrose transporter, OsSUT1, contribute to high-performance ripening under heat stress in the heat-tolerant rice cultivar Genkitsukushi.

High temperature reduces the grain quality of rice, a situation likely to become more frequent because of global warming. We studied the effects of high-temperature stress on grain quality of heat-tolerant cultivar 'Genkitsukushi' and heat-sensitive cultivar 'Tsukushiroman'. When day/night temperatures were 31/26 °C from heading until maturity, the grain quality of 'Genkitsukushi' was rated at the first inspection grade (high quality), whereas 'Tsukushiroman' showed a remarkable increase in the percentage of white immature kernels (low quality).

Regulation of soybean seed germination through ethylene production in response to reactive oxygen species.

Background And Aims: Despite their toxicity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) play important roles in plant cell signalling pathways, such as mediating responses to stress or infection and in programmed cell death, at lower levels. Although studies have indicated that hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) promotes seed germination of several plants such as Arabidopsis, barley, wheat, rice and sunflower, the role of H(2)O(2) in soybean seed germination is not well known. The aim of this study therefore was to investigate the relationships between ROS, plant hormones and soybean seed germination.

Reactive oxygen species are involved in gibberellin/abscisic acid signaling in barley aleurone cells.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) act as signal molecules for a variety of processes in plants. However, many questions about the roles of ROS in plants remain to be clarified. Here, we report the role of ROS in gibberellin (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling in barley (Hordeum vulgare) aleurone cells.

The ethylene signal mediates induction of GmATG8i in soybean plants under starvation stress.

In higher plants, autophagy-related genes (ATGs) appear to play important roles in development, senescence, and starvation responses. Hormone signals underlying starvation-induced gene expression are involved in the expression of ATGs. An effect of starvation stress on the expression of ATGs and ethylene-related genes in young seedlings of soybean (Glycine max [L.

Hydrogen peroxide spraying alleviates drought stress in soybean plants.

To ascertain the effect of exogenously applied hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on drought stress, we examined whether the spraying of soybean leaves with H2O2 would alleviate the symptoms of drought stress. Pre-treatment by spraying leaves with H2O2 delayed foliar wilting caused by drought stress compared to leaves sprayed with distilled water (DW). Additionally, the relative water content of drought-stressed leaves pre-treated with H2O2 was higher than that of leaves pre-treated with DW.

Increased anion channel activity is an unavoidable event in ozone-induced programmed cell death.

Background: Ozone is a major secondary air pollutant often reaching high concentrations in urban areas under strong daylight, high temperature and stagnant high-pressure systems. Ozone in the troposphere is a pollutant that is harmful to the plant.

Principal Findings: By exposing cells to a strong pulse of ozonized air, an acute cell death was observed in suspension cells of Arabidopsis thaliana used as a model.

Hydrogen peroxide scavenging regulates germination ability during wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seed maturation.

Hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) promotes seed germination of cereal plants and ascorbic acid which acts as antioxidant suppresses the germination of wheat seeds, but the role of H(2)O(2) scavenging on germination during seed maturation has not been demonstrated. We investigated relationship of germination, ascorbate, H(2)O(2) scavenging enzymes and sensitivity to ascorbic acid (AsA) maturing seeds of two typical wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars, cvs.