Production of seed samples for the effective molecular analysis of dormancy cycling in Arabidopsis

Most often, the samples used for molecular analysis of dormancy are populations of seeds. An essential survival characteristic of seed populations inhabiting the variable surface layers of the soil is that individuals in the population do not behave uniformly. In addition, seed dormancy (SD) status of the whole population constantly changes even in the dry state. For these and other reasons, production of appropriate and adequately characterized seed samples is the key to the correct and most informative interpretation of molecular studies. This is particularly important when the aim is to describe and explain seed behaviour in the natural environment. Molecular studies of seed dormancy, and especially ecologically relevant behaviour, such as dormancy cycling, should therefore involve characterization of dormancy status based on a sound understanding of seed physiology. This chapter discusses the problems and pitfalls of using Arabidopsis and provides protocols devised for use with the Arabidopsis ecotype Cape Verde Islands for the production and characterization of samples to be used in molecular analysis of dormancy transitions and cycling.