Oral Presentation International Plant Molecular Biology Conference 2024

Understanding transcriptional control during seed dormancy release at single-cell resolution (#467)

Lim Chee Liew 1 , Lucas Auroux 1 , Quentin Gouil 1 2 3 , George W Bassel 4 , Mathew G. Lewsey 1 5 6
  1. La Trobe Institute for Agriculture and Food, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
  2. Epigenetics and Development Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  3. Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  4. School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
  5. Australian Research Council Research Hub for Medicinal Agriculture, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
  6. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia

Correct timing of seed germination is important for agriculture. Dormancy is the phenomenon whereby seeds do not germinate, despite environmental conditions being appropriate, and is of great agricultural and environmental importance. Low dormancy decreases crop yield due to pre-harvest sprouting, whereas deep dormancy causes low emergence of crops. Seed producers are challenged by this because environmental factors affecting seed dormancy are poorly understood, resulting in variation between commercial seed lots that they cannot predict. To better understand the transcriptional control of gene expression within individual seed cell-types during dormancy release, we have carried out single-cell RNA-seq in dormant and non-dormant seeds in Arabidopsis. We obtained dormant seeds by growing plants at 22⁰C until first flowering, then transferring them to 14⁰C, which induces dormancy. Dormant seeds were then subjected to stratification at 4⁰C to release dormancy. We have identified individual cell-types within the seeds, annotated their identities and studied how they changed during the release of seed dormancy. With this, we have profiled cell-specific gene expression and regulation associated with the dormant versus non-dormant state. The knowledge generated in this study on how the behavior of individual cells varies within a seed can be used to develop tools and strategies to modify dormancy properties and the process of dormancy breaking to maximise value in seed industry.