Molecular genetic control of seed germination in Arabidopsis thaliana
Plant Developmental Genetics, Hormone Signaling
Land plants' success to colonize different continental environments lies in part in their ability to produce seeds: structures encapsulating plant embryos, keeping them in an inert and osmotolerant state. The first step towards the adult phase of the plant is that of seed germination, a process whereby the embryo develops into a photosynthetic young seedling.
Since the embryo abandons a highly protected state, it is not surprising that germination is controlled by the environmental conditions faced by the seed. Thus, germination responds to the quality of light (e.g. favorable sun light vs unfavorable canopy light) or water (e.g. fresh vs salty water). Environmental cues determine the levels of the phytohormones gibberrellic acid (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA). GA is necessary to initiate germination by promoting the destruction of germination repressors; the DELLA factors RGL2, GAI and RGA. ABA is synthesized upon osmotic stress and blocks germination by inducing the expression of germination repressors; the transcription factors ABI3 and ABI5.
Our work mainly focuses on understanding how GA- and ABA-dependent control of seed germination is coordinated in response to environmental cues.
Recent Publications
- Embryonic Photosynthesis Affects Post-Germination Plant Growth(1)([OPEN])
Sela, Ayala; Piskurewicz, Urszula; Megies, Christian; Mene-Saffrane, Laurent; Finazzi, Giovanni; et al.
Plant Physiology DOI: 10.1104/pp.20.00043 APR 2020 - Polyamine uptake transporter 2 (put2) and decaying seeds enhance phyA-mediated germination by overcoming PIF1 repression of germination
Kim, W; Zeljkovic, SC; Piskurewicz, U; Megies, C; Tarkowski, P; Lopez-Molina, L
PLOS GENETICS, 15 (7):10.1371/journal.pgen.1008292 JUL 2019 - ICE1 and ZOU determine the depth of primary seed dormancy in Arabidopsis independently of their role in endosperm development
MacGregor, DR; Zhang, NC; Iwasaki, M; Chen, M; Dave, A; Lopez-Molina, L; Penfield, S
PLANT JOURNAL, 98 (2):277-290; 10.1111/tpj.14211 APR 2019 - Non-canonical RNA-directed DNA methylation participates in maternal and environmental control of seed dormancy
Iwasaki, M; Hyvarinen, L; Piskurewicz, U; Lopez-Molina, L
ELIFE, 8 10.7554/eLife.37434 MAR 26 2019 - The plant pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa triggers a DELLA-dependent seed germination arrest in Arabidopsis
Chahtane, H; Fuller, TN; Allard, PM; Marcourt, L; Queiroz, EF; Shanmugabalaji, V; Falquet, J; Wolfender, JL; Lopez-Molina, L
ELIFE, 7 10.7554/eLife.37082 AUG 28 2018 - Chloroplast Biogenesis Controlled by DELLA-TOC159 Interaction in Early Plant Development
Shanmugabalaji, V; Chahtane, H; Accossato, S; Rahire, M; Gouzerh, G; Lopez-Molina, L; Kessler, F
CURRENT BIOLOGY, 28 (16):2616-+; 10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.006 AUG 20 2018 - The plant pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa triggers a DELLA-dependent seed germination arrest in Arabidopsis
Chahtane, Hicham; Fuller, Thanise Nogueira; Allard, Pierre-Marie; et al.
ELIFE Volume: 7 Article Number: e37082 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.37082 Published: AUG 28 2018 - Chloroplast Biogenesis Controlled by DELLA-TOC159 Interaction in Early Plant Development
Shanmugabalaji, Venkatasalam; Chahtane, Hicham; Accossato, Sonia; et al.
CURRENT BIOLOGY Volume: 28 Issue: 16 Pages: 2616-+ 10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.006 Published: AUG 20 2018 - A Maternally Deposited Endosperm Cuticle Contributes to the Physiological Defects of transparent testa Seeds
Loubery, Sylvain; De Giorgi, Julien; Utz-Pugin, Anne; et al.
PLANT PHYSIOLOGY Volume: 177 Issue: 3 Pages: 1218-1233 10.1104/pp.18.00416 Published: JUL 2018 - Primary seed dormancy: a temporally multilayered riddle waiting to be unlocked
Chahtane, Hicham; Kim, Woohyun; Lopez-Molina, Luis
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY, 68 (4): 857-869 10.1093/jxb/erw377 FEB 2017

Prof. Dr. Luis Lopez-Molina
University of Geneva
Department of Botany and Plant Biology
1211 Geneva
Tel: +41 (0)22 379 32 06
Research topics
- Hormone signaling (Abscisic Acid, Gibberellic Acid)
- Biosynthesis and action of the plant hormones Absicisic acid and Gibberellins
- Phytochromes, light responses
- Plant Developmental Genetics
Interdisciplinary
- Chemical signaling in plants
- Embryogenesis, seed maturation
- Plant responses to environmental signals
- Auxin, ethylene and brassinosteroid signaling