Molecular Network for Regulation of Seed Size in Plants

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 24; no. 13; p. 10666
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jinghua, Zhang, Xuan, Liu, Xueman, Pai, Qiaofeng, Wang, Yahui, Wu, Xiaolin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26-06-2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Abscisic acid; Abscisic Acid - metabolism; Agricultural production; Cell division; Cell growth; Crop yields; Cytokinins; Endosperm; Endosperm - metabolism; Enzymes; G protein; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genes; Gibberellins; Gibberellins - metabolism; Grain size; IKU; Integument; Jasmonic acid; Kinases; MAP kinase; MAPK; miRNA; Nutrients; Plant Growth Regulators - metabolism; Proteasomes; Protein kinases; Proteins; Review; Rice; seed size; Seeds; Seeds - metabolism; Signal transduction; Sperm; transcription factor; Transcription factors; Ubiquitin; Wheat; Bhutan; transcription factor; IKU; seed size; miRNA; MAPK; ubiquitin; G protein; phytohormone
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms241310666

The size of seeds is particularly important for agricultural development, as it is a key trait that determines yield. It is controlled by the coordinated development of the integument, endosperm, and embryo. Large seeds are an important way of improving the ultimate "sink strength" of crops, providing more nutrients for early plant growth and showing certain tolerance to abiotic stresses. There are several pathways for regulating plant seed size, including the HAIKU (IKU) pathway, ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, G (Guanosine triphosphate) protein regulatory pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, transcriptional regulators pathway, and phytohormone regulatory pathways including the auxin, brassinosteroid (BR), gibberellin (GA), jasmonic acid (JA), cytokinin (CK), Abscisic acid (ABA), and microRNA (miRNA) regulatory pathways. This article summarizes the seed size regulatory network and prospective ways of improving yield. We expect that it will provide a valuable reference to researchers in related fields.