Physical, metabolic and developmental functions of the seed coat.

Volodymyr Radchuk,Ljudmilla Borisjuk

doi:10.3389/fpls.2014.00510

Volodymyr Radchuk, Ljudmilla Borisjuk

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2014.00510

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Abstract

The conventional understanding of the role of the seed coat is that it provides a protective layer for the developing zygote. Recent data show that the picture is more nuanced. The seed coat certainly represents a first line of defense against adverse external factors, but it also acts as channel for transmitting environmental cues to the interior of the seed. The latter function primes the seed to adjust its metabolism in response to changes in its external environment. The purpose of this review is to provide the reader with a comprehensive view of the structure and functionality of the seed coat, and to expose its hidden interaction with both the endosperm and embryo. Any breeding and/or biotechnology intervention seeking to increase seed size or modify seed features will have to consider the implications on this tripartite interaction.

Highlights

The evolution of sexual reproduction and the seed underlies much of the evolutionary success of the flowering plants
The embryo results from the fusion between an egg cell and a sperm nucleus, while the endosperm develops from the fusion between the two central cell nuclei and a second sperm nucleus to produce a triploid structure
The molecular basis of seed development has been intensively studied (Lafon-Placette and Köhler, 2014), but until now, the lack of suitable in vivo analytical methods has hampered systematic investigations of either the metabolism occurring or the internal structures developing within the growing seed

Summary

Volodymyr Radchuk and Ljudmilla Borisjuk*

Molecular Genetics, Leibniz-Institut für Pflanzengenetik und Kulturpflanzenforschung, Gatersleben, Germany. Reviewed by: Stewart Gillmor, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico Philip W. The conventional understanding of the role of the seed coat is that it provides a protective layer for the developing zygote. The seed coat certainly represents a first line of defense against adverse external factors, but it acts as channel for transmitting environmental cues to the interior of the seed.The latter function primes the seed to adjust its metabolism in response to changes in its external environment.The purpose of this review is to provide the reader with a comprehensive view of the structure and functionality of the seed coat, and to expose its hidden interaction with both the endosperm and embryo. Any breeding and/or biotechnology intervention seeking to increase seed size or modify seed features will have to consider the implications on this tripartite interaction

INTRODUCTION

Findings

Radchuk and Borisjuk