Seed Biotechnology Center, Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Heredity (Edinb). 2022 Jun;128(6):450-459. doi: 10.1038/s41437-022-00497-2. Epub 2022 Jan 10.
In the coming decades, maintaining a steady food supply for the increasing world population will require high-yielding crop plants which can be productive under increasingly variable conditions. Maintaining high yields will require the successful and uniform establishment of plants in the field under altered environmental conditions. Seed vigor, a complex agronomic trait that includes seed longevity, germination speed, seedling growth, and early stress tolerance, determines the duration and success of this establishment period. Elevated temperature during early seed development can decrease seed size, number, and fertility, delay germination and reduce seed vigor in crops such as cereals, legumes, and vegetable crops. Heat stress in mature seeds can reduce seed vigor in crops such as lettuce, oat, and chickpea. Warming trends and increasing temperature variability can increase seed dormancy and reduce germination rates, especially in crops that require lower temperatures for germination and seedling establishment. To improve seed germination speed and success, much research has focused on selecting quality seeds for replanting, priming seeds before sowing, and breeding varieties with improved seed performance. Recent strides in understanding the genetic basis of variation in seed vigor have used genomics and transcriptomics to identify candidate genes for improving germination, and several studies have explored the potential impact of climate change on the percentage and timing of germination. In this review, we discuss these recent advances in the genetic underpinnings of seed performance as well as how climate change is expected to affect vigor in current varieties of staple, vegetable, and other crops.
在未来几十年，要为不断增长的世界人口提供稳定的食物供应，就需要能够在日益多变的条件下高产的作物。要保持高产量，就需要在改变的环境条件下成功且均匀地使植物在田间定植。种子活力是一种复杂的农艺性状，包括种子寿命、发芽速度、幼苗生长和早期耐胁迫能力，它决定了这个定植阶段的持续时间和成功程度。早期种子发育过程中的高温会降低种子的大小、数量和活力，延迟发芽并降低谷物、豆类和蔬菜等作物的种子活力。成熟种子的热胁迫会降低生菜、燕麦和鹰嘴豆等作物的种子活力。气候变暖趋势和温度变异性增加会增加种子休眠并降低发芽率，尤其是在那些需要较低温度才能发芽和幼苗定植的作物中。为了提高种子的发芽速度和成功率，许多研究都集中在选择优质种子进行补种、在播种前对种子进行预处理，以及培育具有改良种子性能的品种上。近年来，人们在理解种子活力变化的遗传基础方面取得了进展，利用基因组学和转录组学来鉴定改良发芽的候选基因，并且有几项研究探讨了气候变化对发芽百分比和时间的潜在影响。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了这些关于种子性能遗传基础的最新进展，以及气候变化预计将如何影响当前主要作物、蔬菜和其他作物品种的活力。
