Plant ‘mothers’ pass climate cues to seeds, study reveals

Plants, much like humans, rely on maternal guidance to navigate early life challenges, according to new research that reveals how mother plants pass environmental information to their developing seeds.

A study by scientists at the John Innes Centre and the Earlham Institute, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has uncovered how plants transfer seasonal temperature cues to seeds using hormonal signals.

How mother plants control seed dormancy

Using advanced single-cell analysis techniques, researchers studied Arabidopsis thaliana, a widely used model plant. They found that when temperatures drop, mother plants increase levels of abscisic acid (ABA), a growth-inhibiting hormone, in specific maternal tissues.

This hormone is transferred early to developing seeds, triggering dormancy — a protective “sleep” state that prevents germination until conditions improve. In warmer temperatures, ABA builds up more gradually and plays a lesser role in enforcing dormancy, allowing seeds to sprout more readily.

Crucially, plants unable to produce ABA failed to induce dormancy in their seeds, confirming the hormone’s key role in transmitting environmental information.

Rapid adaptation to climate change

The findings suggest plants can adapt to environmental change far more quickly than previously thought. Rather than relying solely on genetic evolution, seeds are pre-adapted by their mother plants to the conditions they are likely to face after dispersal.

This mechanism offers a new perspective on climate resilience in plants and could prove valuable for agriculture. By understanding how maternal environments influence seed behaviour, breeders may be able to develop crops with more reliable germination and improved adaptability to local climates.

Technology unlocks hidden details

The research relied on cutting-edge single-cell and spatial analysis tools, allowing scientists to track hormone movement from maternal tissues into individual seed cells — a level of detail not previously possible.

Professor Steve Penfield, the study’s corresponding author, said the work shows plants actively prepare their offspring for the world ahead, using hormonal “fast-track” messaging rather than waiting for slow genetic change.

The study marks a significant step towards developing climate-smart crops in an era of rapidly changing environmental conditions.