In the marketing year 2021/2022, wheat was ranked second in terms of worldwide crops production, with a total production of 778.6 million metric tons. Wheat seeds provide carbohydrates, protein, other nutrients including dietary fibre, B vitamins, and mineral micronutrients. Seed-associated traits, including seed size, seed weight, seed dormancy, germination and pre-harvest sprouting resistance, and protein content, influence yield potential as well as nutritional and end-use quality, and therefore are key targets for the improvement of wheat breeding. The genetic control of wheat seed-associated traits has been extensively investigated in recent years and seed biology research in wheat provides critical information for improving yield and quality in modern agriculture.

This special issue, Current Advances in Wheat Seed Biology, aims to bring together new studies that provide a deep understanding of seed biology in wheat, including genetic and functional genomics studies for dissecting seed-associated traits, the mechanism of seed development, germination, pre-harvest sprouting resistance, and the interactions of these phenomena with the environment.

The Guest Editors, Yingyin Yao (China Agricultural University) and Yuling Jiao (Peking University) cordially invite submissions of full-length articles, opinion, review/mini reviews, and perspectives related to these topics. Please note that the topics we list here may not cover all the research in the field of wheat seed biology. If your topic is related but not listed here, please feel free to contact us.

Topics covered by this special issue include:

● Genetic and epigenetic regulation of wheat seed development;

● Genetic characterization of wheat seed size and seed weight;

● Genetic control of wheat seed end-use and nutritional quality;

● Molecular mechanisms regulating the accumulation of seed storage proteins and starch in wheat;

● Molecular mechanisms of seed dormancy and pre-harvest sprouting resistance in wheat;

● Mechanisms by which environmental conditions affect seed development in wheat;

Guest Editors

Dr. Yingyin Yao
China Agricultural University

Her research interests focus on (1) Genetic and epigenetic regulation of wheat seed development; (2) Genetic and functional genomics studies for dissecting seed-associated traits in wheat; (3) Genetic improvement of end-use quality in wheat. 

Dr. Yuling Jiao
Peking University

His research interests focus on two related questions: (1) How do new shoot meristems initiate to enable shoot branching? (2) How does the stem cell-harboring shoot apical meristem (SAM) interplay with lateral organs derived from the SAM? These studies involve a combination of transcriptome analysis, live-imaging, molecular genetics, large-scale functional approaches, and computational modeling. 

Submission Deadline

The deadline for manuscript submissions is October 1st, 2024, but we can accommodate extensions on a case-by-case basis. All papers will be published as open access articles upon acceptance.

Submission Instructions

Please submit the full manuscript to Seed Biology via our online submission system (mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/seedbio). Additionally, please choose a topic of this Special Issue when submitting and mention it in your cover letter. For further inquiries, please contact the Guest Editors：

Yingyin Yao (yingyin@cau.edu.cn)

Yuling Jiao (yuling.jiao@pku.edu.cn）