pre-harvest-sprouting
Pre-harvest sprouting is the premature germination of seeds while still on the parent plant, triggered by rain or high humidity during the period between grain maturity and harvest. This phenomenon causes significant quality degradation in cereal crops by activating enzymes that break down starch and protein reserves, rendering grain unsuitable for food production. Understanding the genetic and environmental factors that regulate seed dormancy and germination timing is a key focus of plant biology research aimed at developing more resilient varieties.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-05-07
Scientists identified a gene called TaMYB7-A1 in wheat that controls how deeply seeds sleep before germinating, which determines whether grain sprouts prematurely on the plant before harvest. A superior version of this gene, found in wild wheat relatives, boosts resistance to pre-harvest sprouting by strengthening hormonal signals that keep seeds dormant.
TaMYB7-A1 was identified as a master regulator of seed dormancy by directly activating the ABA signaling gene TaABI5, linking a single transcription factor to a key hormonal pathway that suppresses premature germination.
The superior allele of TaMYB7-A1 was introgressed (introduced) from wild wheat relatives, suggesting modern breeding had access to this beneficial variant through natural diversity rather than lab-based gene editing.
The gene controls a hormonal balance between abscisic acid (which enforces dormancy) and gibberellin (which promotes germination), giving plants a graded, tunable level of sprouting resistance adaptable to different climates.
