Scientists at the University of Warwick have made a breakthrough discovery which they claim will have important implications for food security. A Defra-funded study has revealed how seeds change their sensitivity to certain hormones and respond to changes in soil temperature to end dormancy and germinate.

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Dr Steve Footitt, one of the researchers on the project said, “Our research sheds new light on how genetics and the environment interact in the dormancy cycling process. By looking at seeds over an annual cycle we now have a clearer idea of how seeds sense and react to changes in the environment throughout the seasons so they know the best time to emerge into plants.”

A balance between two hormones (ABA and GA) is thought to control dormancy and germination. As soil warms up, with the shift in seasons, seeds are thought to become less sensitive to ABA, which maintains dormancy, and more sensitive to GA, which instigates germination, although once the process has begun, other external factors, including light and nitrates have an effect on germination.

Dr Footitt continued, “Understanding how this happens will help us to predict the impact future climate change will have on our native flora and the weeds that compete with the crops we rely on for food.”

The group will conduct further investigations into how climate change is likely to affect the dormancy cycle and flora in the UK; Dr Footitt and his colleagues will study how genetics and environment interact in dormancy and germination.

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