Seeds are central to crop production, human nutrition, and food security. A key component of
the performance of crop seeds is the complex trait of seed vigour. Crop yield and resource …

The advent of user-friendly instruments for measuring force/deflection curves of plant
surfaces at high spatial resolution has resulted in a recent outpouring of reports of the …

Many organisms evolved strategies to survive desiccation. Plant seeds protect dehydrated
embryos from various stressors and can lay dormant for millennia. Hydration is the key …

Reproduction is a critical time in plant life history. Therefore, genes affecting seed dormancy
and germination are among those under strongest selection in natural plant populations …

The ability of a seed to germinate and establish a plant at the right time of year is of vital
importance from an ecological and economical point of view. Due to the fragility of these …

Morphogenesis emerges from complex multiscale interactions between genetic and
mechanical processes. To understand these processes, the evolution of cell shape …

Morphogenesis emerges from complex multiscale interactions between genetic and
mechanical processes. To understand these processes, the evolution of cell shape …

The shape and function of plant cells are often highly interdependent. The puzzle-shaped
cells that appear in the epidermis of many plants are a striking example of a complex cell …

From a biomechanical perspective, the completion of seed (and fruit) germination depends
on the balance of two opposing forces: the growth potential of the embryonic axis (radicle …

Plants produce organs of various shapes and sizes. While much has been learned about
genetic regulation of organogenesis, the integration of mechanics in the process is also …