The release of dormancy, a wake-up call for seeds to germinate

Abstract

Seed dormancy determines the timing of germination, thereby contributing to successful seedling establishment and plant fitness. The induction and release of dormancy are controlled by various regulators like plant hormones and dormancy proteins. The relative strengths of these regulators are influenced by environmental factors during seed maturation and storage. In the last few years additional processes have been identified to be involved in the release of dormancy during seed storage with an important role for non-enzymatic oxidative reactions. However, the relations between the different dormancy regulators are not fully understood yet. Finally, all accumulated information will be processed in the seed during early seed imbibition and lead to the decision to germinate or not.