Oxygen is a major factor of seed germination since it allows resumption of respiration and subsequent metabolism reactivation during seed imbibition, thus leading to the production of reducing power and ATP. Most studies carried out in the 60s to 85s indicate that oxygen requirement depends on the species and is modulated by environmental factors. They have also demonstrated that the covering structures mainly inhibit germination by limiting oxygen supply to the embryo during imbibition through enzymatic oxidation of phenolic compounds by polyphenol oxidases (catechol oxidase and laccase) and peroxidases. Recent use of oxygen-sensitive microsensors has allowed to better characterize the oxygen diffusion in the seed and determine the oxygen content at the level of embryo below the covering structures. Here, I will also highlight the major data obtained over the last 30 years indicating the key role of oxygen in the molecular networks regulating seed germination and dormancy through (1) the hormonal balance (ethylene, ABA and GA), the hormone-signalling pathway and, in particular, the ABA sensitivity, (2) the emerging role of mitochondria in ROS production in hypoxia and (3) the involvement of the N-degron pathway in the turnover of proteins involved in seed tolerance to hypoxia.

氧气是种子萌发的主要因素，因为它允许在种子吸胀过程中恢复呼吸和随后的新陈代谢重新激活，从而导致还原力和 ATP 的产生。大多数在 60 年代到 85 年代进行的研究表明，氧气需求取决于物种，并受环境因素的调节。他们还证明，覆盖结构主要通过多酚氧化酶（儿茶酚氧化酶和漆酶）和过氧化物酶对酚类化合物进行酶促氧化，从而在吸收过程中限制胚胎的氧气供应，从而抑制发芽。最近使用氧敏感微传感器可以更好地表征种子中的氧扩散，并确定覆盖结构下方胚胎水平的氧含量。这里，