Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA.
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2022 Feb;65:102121. doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2021.102121. Epub 2021 Nov 18.
Although the ultimate purpose of a seed is the successful establishment of the next generation, seed development involves more than embryo growth. In angiosperms, seed development requires the intimate coordination of three distinct entities - maternal tissue and two offspring, embryo and embryo-nourishing endosperm. Although seeds are cornerstones of many terrestrial ecosystems and human diets, we are only beginning to understand the interactions among seed tissues and the molecular processes and genes that determine them. Recent studies of gene expression and function in distantly related angiosperms, combined with over 100 years of embryological research, have repeatedly highlighted the endosperm associated with maternal-filial boundaries as a central point in seed developmental dynamics. In this review, we highlight evidence that links this zone with nutritional dynamics, developmental signaling, and imprinted gene expression. We suggest that the underappreciated diversity of this specialized endosperm across angiosperms deserves further study from developmental, molecular, and genetic perspectives.
尽管种子的最终目的是成功建立下一代，但种子的发育不仅仅涉及胚胎的生长。在被子植物中，种子的发育需要三个不同实体的紧密协调——母体组织和两个后代，胚胎和胚胎营养的胚乳。尽管种子是许多陆地生态系统和人类饮食的基石，但我们才刚刚开始了解种子组织之间的相互作用以及决定它们的分子过程和基因。最近对远缘被子植物的基因表达和功能的研究，结合 100 多年的胚胎学研究，反复强调了与母体-亲代边界相关的胚乳是种子发育动态的中心。在这篇综述中，我们强调了将这个区域与营养动态、发育信号和印迹基因表达联系起来的证据。我们认为，被子植物中这个特殊胚乳的被低估的多样性值得从发育、分子和遗传的角度进一步研究。
