Collection
Seed Biology
Angiosperm seeds are perfect biological factories for producing food, feed and industrially valuable molecules. They have evolved to accumulate a huge variety of nutritional and protective molecules in a stable (dry and largely quiescent) environment that can be stored, in some cases for many years, allowing embryo growth to be resumed when placed under favourable conditions. These characteristics have made seeds the cornerstone of human agriculture, and today they directly provide the majority of the calories consumed by an average human being. They are, in addition, a key component of many feedstuffs used in the production of animal-derived products. The potential of seeds as bioreactors for the production of high-value heterologous proteins (for example antibodies) has already been identified. As a result understanding and optimizing the accumulation and storage of key molecules in seeds, and identifying novel and innovative uses for seed-derived products, represent important strategies in the drive both for increased agricultural efficiency and sustainability, and in the quest for novel biotechnological solutions for the production of high-value molecules. This collection of reviews aims to highlight important new findings in seed biology and pinpoint potentially novel strategies towards this end.
Editors
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Gwyneth Ingram
Laboratoire Reproduction et Développement des Plantes, ENS de Lyon, CNRS, INRA, Université de Lyon
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Helen North
INRA Centre de Versailles-Grignon
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Loïc Lepiniec
INRA Centre de Versailles-Grignon
Articles (10 in this collection)
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Molecular and epigenetic regulations and functions of the LAFL transcriptional regulators that control seed development
Authors (first, second and last of 8)
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New insights into the metabolism of aspartate-family amino acids in plant seeds
Authors (first, second and last of 4)
