germinate

(verb)

to sprout or produce buds

Related Terms

Examples of germinate in the following topics:

  • Development of the Seed

    • This tissue becomes the food the young plant will consume until the roots have developed after germination.
    • Upon germination, enzymes are secreted by the aleurone, a single layer of cells just inside the seed coat that surrounds the endosperm and embryo.
    • Upon germination in dicot seeds, the epicotyl is shaped like a hook with the plumule pointing downwards; this plumule hook persists as long as germination proceeds in the dark.
    • As the seed germinates, the primary root emerges, protected by the root-tip covering: the coleorhiza.
    • Upon a return to optimal conditions, seed germination takes place.

  • Fruit and Seed Dispersal

    • Seeds contained within fruits need to be dispersed far from the mother plant so that they may find favorable and less-competitive conditions in which to germinate and grow.
    • Coconuts are well known for their ability to float on water to reach land where they can germinate.
    • Some animals, such as squirrels, bury seed-containing fruits for later use; if the squirrel does not find its stash of fruit, and if conditions are favorable, the seeds germinate.
    • Dormant seeds can wait months, years, or even decades for the proper conditions for germination and propagation of the species.

  • Abscisic Acid, Ethylene, and Nontraditional Hormones

    • ABA induces dormancy in seeds by blocking germination and promoting the synthesis of storage proteins.
    • Plants adapted to temperate climates require a long period of cold temperature before seeds germinate.
    • As the hormone gradually breaks down over winter, the seed is released from dormancy and germinates when conditions are favorable in spring.
    • Strigolactones promote seed germination in some species and inhibit lateral apical development in the absence of auxins.
    • Apical dominance, seed germination, gravitropism, and resistance to freezing are all positively influenced by hormones.

  • Mosses

    • The most familiar structure is the haploid gametophyte, which germinates from a haploid spore and forms first a protonema: usually, a tangle of single-celled filaments that hug the ground.
    • The alternation of generations cycle begins when the gametophyte germinates from a haploid spore and forms a protonema.
    • Spores released from the sporophyte germinate and produce gametophytes; the process begins again.

  • Double Fertilization in Plants

    • After pollen is deposited on the stigma, it must germinate and grow through the style to reach the ovule.
    • The germination of the pollen tube requires water, oxygen, and certain chemical signals.
    • Embryonic development is suspended after some time; growth resumes only when the seed germinates.

  • Nails

    • The root of the fingernail is also known as the germinal matrix.
    • The edge of the germinal matrix is seen as a white, crescent shaped structure called the lunula.
    • It extends from the edge of the germinal matrix, or lunula, to the hyponychium.

  • Plant Nutrition

    • First, seeds must germinate under the right conditions in the soil; therefore, temperature, moisture, and soil quality are important factors that play a role in germination and seedling development.

  • Zygomycota: The Conjugated Fungi

    • When spores land on a suitable substrate, they germinate and produce a new mycelium.
    • When the zygospore germinates, it undergoes meiosis and produces haploid spores, which will, in turn, grow into a new organism.

  • Endospores

    • They will germinate within a day or two with the right environmental conditions, and then the vegetative cells can be straightforwardly destroyed.
    • Reactivation of the endospore occurs when conditions are more favourable and involves activation, germination, and outgrowth.
    • Even if an endospore is located in plentiful nutrients, it may fail to germinate unless activation has taken place.
    • Germination involves the dormant endospore starting metabolic activity and thus breaking hibernation.

  • The Phytochrome System and Red Light Response

    • For example, if lettuce seedlings germinated a centimeter under the soil surface, the seedling would exhaust its food resources and die before reaching the surface.
    • A seed will only germinate if exposed to light at the surface of the soil, causing Pr to be converted to Pfr, signaling the start of germination.
    • In the dark, phytochrome is in the inactive Pr form so the seed will not germinate.