Yong Jia

Many plant species have acquired seed dormancy during evolution to maximise their fitness and survival. This adaptive trait has many evolutionary benefits such as allowing seed dispersal, preventing germination in unfavourable conditions, and improving survival rate across multiple conditions (Koornneef et al., 2002; Venable, 2007). However, seed dormancy has generally been lost or weakened during crop domestication due to artificial selection for rapid and uniform germination (Hammer, 1984). And this loss of seed dormancy makes modern cultivated crops particularly susceptible to a grain defect called pre-harvest sprouting (PHS).