Age-related fertility in plants

Many organisms, including humans, have an optimal age for reproduction, with the likelihood of producing healthy offspring decreasing with age. This phenomenon is also observed in plants. Given the fundamental role of plants and their seeds in human nutrition, understanding plant reproduction is crucial, particularly amidst climate change and increasing demands for resilient crop varieties to sustain the growing global population.

One significant gap in our current knowledge is the decline in fertility observed in aging plants. In many species, including trees and agriculturally important crops, older plants tend to produce fewer seeds, with parental age impacting critical seed properties such as size and germination ability. 

This project addresses this phenomenon in several aspects including:

• Identifying which parent (male or female) contributes more to the age-related decline in fertility.

• Revealing the specific genes and molecular pathways involved in this process.

• Determining the role of plant hormones in the fertility decline of aging plants.

• Investigating how parental age affects seed quality and the fitness of the next generation.