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Interaction of light and hormone signals in germinating seeds

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Abstract

Seed germination is regulated by several environmental factors, such as moisture, oxygen, temperature, light, and nutrients. Light is a critical regulator of seed germination in small-seeded plants, including Arabidopsis and lettuce. Phytochromes, a class of photoreceptors, play a major role in perceiving light to induce seed germination. Classical physiological studies have long suggested the involvement of gibberellin (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA) in the phytochrome-mediated germination response. Recent studies have demonstrated that phytochromes modulate endogenous levels of GA and ABA, as well as GA responsiveness. Several key components that link the perception of light and the modulation of hormone levels and responsiveness have been identified. Complex regulatory loops between light, GA and ABA signaling pathways have been uncovered.

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Acknowledgements

GC and SY are supported in part by Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (R0A-2007-000-20024-0) and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (20570049), respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RIKEN Plant Science Center, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-0045, Japan

    Mitsunori Seo & Shinjiro Yamaguchi

  2. Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3B2

    Eiji Nambara

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, KAIST, Daejeon, 305-701, Korea

    Giltsu Choi

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  1. Mitsunori Seo
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  2. Eiji Nambara
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  3. Giltsu Choi
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  4. Shinjiro Yamaguchi
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Correspondence to Shinjiro Yamaguchi.

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Seo, M., Nambara, E., Choi, G. et al. Interaction of light and hormone signals in germinating seeds. Plant Mol Biol 69, 463–472 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11103-008-9429-y

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