Plant hormone profiling in developing seeds of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Abstract

This study examined contents of nine plant hormones in developing seeds of field-grown wheat varieties (Triticum aestivum L.) with different seed dormancy using liquid chromatography—mass spectrometry. The varieties showed marked diversity in germination indices at 15°C and 20°C. Contents of the respective hormones in seeds showed a characteristic pattern during seed maturation from 30-day post anthesis to 60-day post anthesis. Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis revealed that plant hormone profiles were not correlated with dormancy levels, indicating that hormone contents were not associated with preharvest sprouting (PHS) susceptibility. Indole acetic acid (IAA) contents of mature seeds showed positive correlation with the germination index, but no other hormone. Response of embryo-half seeds to exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) indicates that ABA sensitivity is correlated with whole-seed germinability, which can be explained in part by genotypes of MOTHER OF FT AND TFL (MFT) allele modulating ABA signaling of wheat seeds. These results demonstrate that variation in wheat seed dormancy is attributable to ABA sensitivity of mature seeds, but not to ABA contents in developing seeds.