Developing innovative agri-technologies is essential for the sustainable intensification of global food production. Seed dormancy is an adaptive trait which defines the environmental conditions in which the seed is able to germinate. Dormancy release requires sensing and integration of multiple environmental signals, a complex process which may be mimicked by seed treatment technologies. Here, we reveal molecular mechanisms by which non-thermal (cold) atmospheric gas plasma-activated water (GPAW) releases the physiological seed dormancy of Arabidopsis thaliana. GPAW triggered dormancy release by synergistic interaction between plasma-generated reactive chemical species (NO3-, H2O2, ·NO, and ·OH) and multiple signalling pathways targeting gibberellin and abscisic acid (ABA) metabolism and the expression of downstream cell wall-remodelling genes. Direct chemical action of GPAW on cell walls resulted in premature biomechanical endosperm weakening. The germination responses of dormancy signalling (nlp8, prt6, and dog1) and ABA metabolism (cyp707a2) mutants varied with GPAW composition. GPAW removes seed dormancy blocks by triggering multiple molecular signalling pathways combined with direct chemical tissue weakening to permit seed germination. Gas plasma technologies therefore improve seed quality by mimicking permissive environments in which sensing and integration of multiple signals lead to dormancy release and germination.

Department of Biological Sciences Royal Holloway University of London Egham Surrey TW20 0EX UK

Division of Advanced Nuclear Engineering Pohang University of Science and Technology Pohang Gyeongbuk 790 784 South Korea

Elsoms Seeds Ltd Spalding Lincolnshire PE11 1QG UK

Laboratory of Growth Regulators Institute of Experimental Botany Czech Academy of Sciences and Faculty of Science Palacký University Olomouc CZ 78371 Olomouc Czech Republic

Wolfson School of Mechanical Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering Loughborough University Leicestershire LE11 3TU UK

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