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Family life at close quarters: communication and constraint in angiosperm seed development

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Abstract

The formation of viable angiosperm seeds involves the co-ordinated growth and development of three genetically distinct organisms, the maternally derived seed coat and the zygotic embryo and endosperm. The physical relationships of these tissues are initially established during the specification and differentiation of the female gametophyte within the tissues of the developing ovule. The molecular programmes implicated in both ovule and seed development involve elements of globally important pathways (such as auxin signalling), as well as ovule- and seed-specific pathways. Recurrent themes, such as the precisely controlled death of specific cell types and the regulation of cell–cell communication and nutrition by the selective establishment of symplastic and apoplastic barriers, appear to play key roles in both pre- and post-fertilization seed development. Much of post-fertilization seed growth occurs during a key developmental window shortly after fertilization and involves the dramatic expansion of the young endosperm, constrained by surrounding maternal tissues. The complex tissue-specific regulation of carbohydrate metabolism in specific seed compartments has been shown to provide a driving force for this early seed expansion. The embryo, which is arguably the most important component of the seed, appears to be only minimally involved in early seed development. Given the evolutionary and agronomic importance of angiosperm seeds, the complex combination of communication pathways which co-ordinate their growth and development remains remarkably poorly understood.

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Abbreviations

AP2:

APETALA2

ALE1:

ABNORMAL LEAF SHAPE1

ALE2:

ABNORMAL LEAF SHAPE2

ACR4:

ARABIDOPSIS CRINKLY4

AGP:

Arabinogalactan protein

AGO9:

ARGONAUTE 9

ATO:

ATROPOS

ARF2:

AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR2

CLO:

CLOTHO

C/M:

Chalazal/micropylar

CDKA;1:

CYCLIN-DEPENDENT KINASE A;1

DEK:

DEFECTIVE KERNEL

EMB:

EMBRYO SPECIFIC

ESR:

Embryo surrounding region

FBL17:

F-BOX-LIKE PROTEIN 17

FM:

Functional megaspore

IKU1:

HAIKU1

IKU2:

HAIKU2

IAA:

Indole-3-acetic acid

IPT:

ISOPRENYL TRANSFERASE

KPR2:

KIP RELATED PROTEIN2

LIS:

LACHENSIS

LRR-RLK:

Leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase

MMC:

Megaspore mother cell

MINI3:

MINISEED3

MSP1:

MULTIPLE SPOROCYTE1

RNA:

Ribonucleic acid

SHB1:

SHORT HYPOCOTYL UNDER BLUE1

siRNAs:

Small interfering RNAs

SPL:

SPOROCYTELESS

SAP:

STERILE APETALA

TTG2:

TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABRA2

ZOU:

ZHOUPI

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Professor Alison Smith (John Innes Centre, Norwich), Dr Peter Rogowsky (RDP, ENS-Lyon) and Dr Justin Goodrich, Jessica Fitzgibbon and Andrew Waters (University of Edinburgh) for discussions and helpful comments on the manuscript. GI was supported by an RCUK Fellowship.

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The author declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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    Gwyneth Christina Ingram

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Ingram, G.C. Family life at close quarters: communication and constraint in angiosperm seed development. Protoplasma 247, 195–214 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-010-0184-y

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