Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 4, 2026

A Seed Coat Bedding Assay to Genetically Explore In Vitro How the Endosperm Controls Seed Germination in Arabidopsis thaliana
Published on: November 9, 2013
Abscisic acid transporters cooperate to control seed germination
Joohyun Kang1,2, Sojeong Yim2, Hyunju Choi2
1Institut für Pflanzenbiologie, Universität Zürich, Zollikerstrasse 107, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Seed germination is a key developmental process that has to be tightly controlled to avoid germination under unfavourable conditions. Abscisic acid (ABA) is an essential repressor of seed germination. In Arabidopsis, it has been shown that the endosperm, a single cell layer surrounding the embryo, synthesizes and continuously releases ABA towards the embryo. The mechanism of ABA transport from the endosperm to the embryo was hitherto unknown. Here we show that four AtABCG transporters act in concert to deliver ABA from the endosperm to the embryo: AtABCG25 and AtABCG31 export ABA from the endosperm, whereas AtABCG30 and AtABCG40 import ABA into the embryo. Thus, this work establishes that radicle extension and subsequent embryonic growth are suppressed by the coordinated activity of multiple ABA transporters expressed in different tissues.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Seed Structure and Early Development of the Sporophyte
Regulation of Transpiration by Stomata
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Short-distance Transport of Resources
C4 Pathway and CAM
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...
Seedless Vascular Plants

