In higher plants, seed size is an important parameter and agricultural trait in many aspects of evolutionary fitness. The loss of water-deficiency-induced crop yield is the largest among all natural hazards. Under water-deficient stress, the most prevalent response to terminal stress is to accelerate the early arrest of floral development and, thereby, to accelerate fruit/seed production, which consequently reduces seed size. This phenomenon is well-known, but its molecular mechanism is not well-reviewed and characterized. However, increasing evidence have indicated that water-deficient stress is always coordinated with three genetic signals (i.e., seed size regulators, initial seed size, and fruit number) that decide the final seed size. Here, our review presents new insights into the mechanism underlying cross-talk water-deficient stress signaling with three genetic signals controlling final seed size. These new insights may aid in preliminary screening, identifying novel genetic factors and future design strategies, or breeding to increase crop yield.
Keywords: seed size; three kinds of genetic signals (seed size regulators, initial seed size, and fruit number); water-deficient tolerance.