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Reliable Method for Assessing Seed Germination, Dormancy, and Mortality under Field Conditions
Published on: November 6, 2016
Reproductive competence from an annual and a perennial perspective
Sara Bergonzi1, Maria C Albani
1Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl von Linne Weg 10, D-50829 Cologne, Germany.
Abstract:
Plants at early stages of development undergo a juvenile phase during which they are not competent to flower in response to environmental stimuli. The length of this phase varies among species and is extended in perennial plants particularly. In annuals, temporal changes in expression of microR156 (miR156), miR172, and their targets are correlated with the transition from the juvenile to the adult phase and flowering. This developmental transition in perennials is probably more complex than in other plants and the molecular mechanisms are less well understood. In addition, once perennials become adult and capable of reproduction they still keep some meristems in the vegetative state that contribute to their polycarpic growth habit. Juvenility and polycarpy, although considered as two different processes in perennials, might be related.
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