Long-term high temperatures affect seed maturation and seed coat integrity in Brassica napus

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Authors	PRABHULLACHANDRAN Unnikannan URBÁNKOVÁ Ivana MEDAGLIA MATA Alejandro Antonio CREFF Audrey VOXEUR Aline BURŠÍKOVÁ Vilma LANDRIEN Benoit HEJÁTKO Jan ROBERT BOISIVON Helene
Year of publication	2026
Type	Peer-reviewed scientific article
Magazine / Source	Plant Stress
MU Faculty or unit	Central European Institute of Technology
Citation
web	https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667064X26003222?via%3Dihub
Doi	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stress.2026.101541
Keywords	Brassica napus; Seed development; Cell Wall; Long term high temperature; Pectin; Seed Coat Rupture; Heat stress
Attached files	1-s2.0-S2667064X26003222-main.pdf
Description	Temperatures above the optimum growth threshold affect seed development, accelerating embryo development and producing seeds with ruptured seed coats. However, the underlying mechanisms of this effect remain unclear. To investigate temperature-induced seed coat rupture, we used a multidisciplinary approach combining detailed phenotyping, transcriptomics, histology, immunolabelling, cell wall profiling and nanoindentation-based mechanics of the seed coat in oilseed rape (Brassica napus). Our data reveal that high temperatures accelerate embryo growth, resulting in larger embryos without a compensatory increase in overall seed size. This rapid embryo expansion may exert elevated mechanical stress on the seed coat cells, significantly thinning the seed coat layers. Concurrently, prolonged exposure to high temperatures drives premature biochemical maturation of the seed coat, characterized by accumulation of demethylesterified pectin. Nanoindentation analysis demonstrated that these changes may have compromised the structural integrity of seed coat cell walls. Ultimately, the weakened seed coat may not withstand the internal tension imposed by the fast-growing embryo, leading to seed coat rupture and reduced seed quality. Our work on seed maturation and the mechanism of heat-induced seed coat rupture provides valuable insights for future research into breeding thermotolerant Brassica napus, crucial in the context of a changing climate.
Related projects:	R&D centre for plasma and nanotechnology surface modifications Czech BioImaging: National research infrastructure for biological and medical imaging NCMG: The National Centre for Medical Genomic