What are karrikins and how were they 'discovered' by plants?
Access Status
Open access via publisher
Authors
Flematti, G.
Dixon, Kingsley
Smith, S.
Date
2015Type
Journal Article
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Flematti, G. and Dixon, K. and Smith, S. 2015. What are karrikins and how were they 'discovered' by plants?. BMC Biology. 13 (108): pp. 1-7.
Source Title
BMC Biology
ISSN
School
Department of Environment and Agriculture
Collection
Abstract
© 2015 Flematti et al. Karrikins are a family of compounds produced by wildfires that can stimulate the germination of dormant seeds of plants from numerous families. Seed plants could have 'discovered' karrikins during fire-prone times in the Cretaceous period when flowering plants were evolving rapidly. Recent research suggests that karrikins mimic an unidentified endogenous compound that has roles in seed germination and early plant development. The endogenous signalling compound is presumably not only similar to karrikins, but also to the related strigolactone hormones.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Chiwocha, S.; Dixon, Kingsley; Flematti, G.; Ghisalberti, E.; Merritt, D.; Nelson, D.; Riseborough, J.; Smith, S.; Stevens, J. (2009)Karrikins are a chemically defined family of plant growth regulators discovered in smoke from burning plant material. Karrikins are potent in breaking dormancy of seeds of many species adapted to environments that regularly ...
-
Waters, M.; Nelson, D.; Scaffidi, A.; Flematti, G.; Sun, Y.; Dixon, Kingsley; Smith, S. (2012)Karrikins are butenolides derived from burnt vegetation that stimulate seed germination and enhance seedling responses to light. Strigolactones are endogenous butenolide hormones that regulate shoot and root architecture, ...
-
Nelson, D.; Scaffidi, A.; Dun, E.; Waters, M.; Flematti, G.; Dixon, Kingsley; Beveridge, C.; Ghisalberti, E.; Smith, S. (2011)Smoke is an important abiotic cue for plant regeneration in postfire landscapes. Karrikins are a class of compounds discovered in smoke that promote seed germination and influence early development of many plants by an ...