背景回顾：Many organisms evolved strategies to survive desiccation. Plant seeds protect dehydrated embryos from various stressors and can lay dormant for millennia. 

提出问题：Hydration is the key trigger to initiate germination, but the mechanism by which seeds sense water remains unresolved. 

主要研究：We identified an uncharacterized Arabidopsis thaliana prion-like protein we named FLOE1, which phase separates upon hydration and allows the embryo to sense water stress. 

结果1-相分离：We demonstrate that biophysical states of FLOE1 condensates modulate its biological function in vivo in suppressing seed germination under unfavorable environments. 

结果2-自然变异：We find intragenic, intraspecific, and interspecific natural variation in FLOE1 expression and phase separation and show that intragenic variation is associated with adaptive germination strategies in natural populations. 

结论：This combination of molecular, organismal, and ecological studies uncovers FLOE1 as a tunable environmental sensor with direct implications for the design of drought-resistant crops, in the face of climate change.

 摘 要 

许多生物都演化出了在干燥环境下生存的策略。植物的种子保护脱水的胚胎免受各种胁迫环境，并能休眠数千年。水合作用是起始种子萌发的关键诱导因子，但种子感知水分的机制仍不清楚。本文中，作者在拟南芥中鉴定了一种未知的类朊病毒蛋白，命名为FLOE1，其在水合作用后相分离，使得胚胎能够感知水分胁迫。作者发现FLOE1凝聚物的生物物理状态调节了其在体内的生物学功能，在不利环境下抑制种子的萌发。作者发现FLOE1的表达和相分离在基因内、种内和种间存在自然变异，并表明基因内变异与自然种群的适应性萌发策略有关。本文通过结合分子、生物和生态学的研究，顺利揭示了FLOE1是一种可调控的环境传感器，对于气候变化的情况下抗旱作物的设计具有启示性意义。