The rupture of the seed coat and that of the endosperm were found to be two sequential events in the germination of Sisymbrium officinale L. seeds, and radicle protrusion did not occur exactly in the micropylar area but in the neighboring zone. The germination patterns were similar both in the presence of gibberellins (GA(4+7)) and in presence of ethrel. The analysis of genes involved in GAs synthesis and breakdown demonstrated that (1) SoGA2ox6 expression peaked just prior to radicle protrusion (20-22 h), while SoGA3ox2 and SoGA20ox2 expression was high at early imbibition (6 h) diminishing sharply thereafter; (2) the accumulation of SoGA20ox2 transcript was strongly inhibited by paclobutrazol (PB) as well as by inhibitors of ET synthesis and signaling (IESS) early after imbibition (6 h), while SoGA3ox2 and SoGA2ox6 expression was slowly depressed as germination progressed; (3) ethrel and GA(4+7) positively or negatively affected expression of SoGA3ox2, SoGA20ox2, and SoGA2ox6, depending on the germination period studied. Regarding genes involved in ET synthesis, our results showed that SoACS7 was expressed, just prior to radicle emergence while SoACO2 expression slowly increased as germination progressed. Both genes were strongly inhibited by PB but were almost unaffected by externally added ethrel or GA(4+7). These results suggest that GAs are more important than ET during the early stages of imbibition, while ET is more important at the late phases of germination of S. officinale L. seeds.