Global Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Molecular Mechanism Underlying Seed Physical Dormancy Formation in Medicago sativa

Seed physical dormancy, also known as hard-seededness, is a characteristic commonly found in higher plants, which functions to prevent water and oxygen from passing through the impermeable seed coat. <b>Background</b>: Notably, seed dormancy has emerged as a critical factor in the domestication of leguminous plants. Alfalfa (<i>Medicago sativa</i> L.) is a globally cultivated high-quality legume forage crop, while the seeds from different varieties maintain varying degrees of hard-seededness. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying physical dormancy in alfalfa seeds remain poorly understood. In particular, the regulatory mechanisms at the transcriptomic level remain unclear, which has hindered the breeding process of varieties with low hard-seededness. <b>Methods</b>: In this study, we performed global transcriptome analysis to discover the genes specifically expressed in the alfalfa seed coat and provide insights into alfalfa seeds' physical dormancy domestication traits. RNA sequencing was performed on various alfalfa tissues, including roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and seed coats. <b>Results</b>: This analysis led to the identification of 4740 seed coat-specific expressed genes, including key genes such as <i>KNOX4</i> (a class II KNOTTED-like homeobox gene), <i>qHs1</i> (encoding endo-1,4-β-glucanase), <i>GmHs1-1</i> (encoding a calcineurin-like metallophosphoesterase), and <i>KCS12</i> (β-ketoacyl-CoA synthase). In addition, several seed coat-specific transcription factor families were identified, including ERF, B3, and NAC, among others. Furthermore, a comparison of gene expression profiles between seeds with and without physical dormancy revealed 60 upregulated and 197 downregulated genes associated with physical dormancy. Crucially, functional enrichment analysis demonstrated that these genes are predominantly associated with lipid metabolism pathways, particularly those involved in the formation of "monolayer-surrounding lipid storage bodies." <b>Conclusions</b>: This key finding suggests that the establishment of physical dormancy is closely linked to the biosynthesis and deposition of specialized lipid-based layers in the seed coat, which likely constitute the primary barrier to water penetration. Our study thus provides fundamental insights and a valuable genetic resource for future functional studies aimed at deciphering and manipulating physical dormancy in alfalfa.