Gene expression in relation to seed development and longevity

During maturation seeds acquire stress tolerance and increase in longevity, which are lost completely or partially during germination and priming. Slow drying can partly restore the longevity of primed seeds. Cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.) seeds were used as a model to analyse expression of genes during these processes. Six genes for which the expression profiles correlated with the longevity level were identified. Two of these genes are discussed in more detail, EM6 and RAB18, next to the kinetics of two cell cycle genes, historic H1-1 and histone H3. These genes, and the proteins they encode, might serve as markers for optimization of seed processing protocols to produce seeds with a high level of longevity.