Molecular Networks of Seed Size Control in Plants

First author: Na Li; Affiliations: Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (中科院遗传学与发育生物学研究所): Beijing, China

Corresponding author: Yunhai Li

The size of seeds affects not only evolutionary fitness but also grain yield of crops. Understanding the mechanisms controlling seed size has become an important research field in plant science. Seed size is determined by the integrated signals of maternal and zygotic tissues, which control the coordinated growth of the embryo, endosperm, and seed coat. Recent advances have identified several signaling pathways that control seed size through maternal tissues, including or involving the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, G-protein signaling, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling, phytohormone perception and homeostasis, and some transcriptional regulators. Meanwhile, growth of the zygotic tissues is regulated in part by the HAIKU (IKU) pathway and phytohormones. This review provides a general overview of current findings in seed size control and discusses the emerging molecular mechanisms and regulatory networks found to be involved.

种子的大小不仅能够影响植物的演化适应性，同时还会影响作物的籽粒产量。了解控制种子大小的分子机制成为了植物科学中一门十分重要的研究领域。种子大小由母本和合子的综合信号所决定，协调调控胚胎、胚乳以及种皮的生长。最近的一些研究鉴定了一些通过母本组织调控种子大小的信号通路，包括或涉及泛素-蛋白酶体途径、G蛋白信号途径、丝裂原活化蛋白激酶MAPK信号途径、植物激素感知和内稳态以及一些转录调控因子。与此同时，合子的生长会部分受到HAIKU通路和植物激素的调控。本文综述了目前对于植物种子大小分子调控机制的研究概况，并讨论了新发现的分子机制和调控网络。

通讯：李云海  (http://pcce.genetics.cas.cn/experts/PI/lyh/introduction/)

个人简介：1996年，河南大学，学士；1999年，中国水稻研究所，硕士；2003年，中国科学院遗传所，博士；2003-2008年，英国John Innes Centre，博士后。

研究方向：单、双子叶植物（水稻和拟南芥）种子和器官大小调控的分子机理研究。

doi: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-arplant-050718-095851

Journal: Annual Review of Plant Biology

Published date: April 29, 2019