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Reactive oxygen species and seed germination

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Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are continuously produced by the metabolically active cells of seeds, and apparently play important roles in biological processes such as germination and dormancy. Germination and ROS accumulation appear to be linked, and seed germination success may be closely associated with internal ROS contents and the activities of ROS-scavenging systems. Although ROS were long considered hazardous molecules, their functions as cell signaling compounds are now well established and widely studied in plants. In seeds, ROS have important roles in endosperm weakening, the mobilization of seed reserves, protection against pathogens, and programmed cell death. ROS may also function as messengers or transmitters of environmental cues during seed germination. Little is currently known, however, about ROS biochemistry or their functions or the signaling pathways during these processes, which are to be considered in the present review.

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  1. Institut des Sciences de l’environnement, Succ. Centre-Ville, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, H3C 3P8, Montréal, Québec, Canada

    Marcelo Pedrosa Gomes

  2. Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Campus UFLA, 37200-000, Lavras, MG, Brazil

    Marcelo Pedrosa Gomes

  3. Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, C.P. 486, 31270-970, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

    Queila Souza Garcia

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  1. Marcelo Pedrosa Gomes
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  2. Queila Souza Garcia
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Correspondence to Marcelo Pedrosa Gomes.

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Gomes, M.P., Garcia, Q.S. Reactive oxygen species and seed germination. Biologia 68, 351–357 (2013). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-013-0161-y

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