Negative Effects Of Drought Stress On The Produced Seeds Composition, Vigor And Ageing

Seed germination is a crucial phase of plant's life, which may be affected by multiple factors. Most importantly, seed performance is defined by seed vitality, which is strongly affected by the seed maturation environment. Thus, unfavourable environmental conditions may be negatively projected in both maternal plant growth and next generation performance. Recently, drought is one of the most important sources of abiotic stress, causing significant yield losses. However, the effects of drought stress on the quality of produced seeds are understood poorly. In this work, we focused on the seed performance and proteome composition of Arabidopsis thaliana seeds produced under drought stress conditions. Our results suggest that the drought stress causes reduction in seed dormancy level, corresponding with faster seed germination of freshly harvested seeds and higher mortality of artificially aged seeds. The proteomic analysis revealed more than 50 canditate proteins. Among others, we found significant changes in proteins ensuring seed desiccation tolerance and protein folding, as well as abscisic acid and gibberellin responsive proteins.