Steve Penfield - Control of progeny seed behaviour by the mother plant

Abstract: During reproduction the mother plant uses environmental signals to modulate the dormancy and behaviour of her progeny seeds. This presentation will explore the importance of this process in plant evolutionary biology, and discuss what is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms. Key data will point to an ancient role of flowering time genes in seed biology, which may precede the co-option of these genes into reproductive processes that evolved later, such as flowering itself. Using natural variation to study seed dormancy I will raise the prospect that a parental conflict exists at the heart of seed dormancy and growth vigour, and therefore that mothers and fathers have different optimised fates for progeny seeds. We can speculate a bit as to why this might be and the implications for crop science.