. In
general, ABA delays or prevents seed germination and determines the depth of dormancy during development, whereas GAs breaks dormancy and
promotes germination upon imbibition in some mature seeds. Since many species produce ethylene (ET) during last period of embryogenesis and
germination, and some factors that break dormancy also stimulate its production, it has been proposed that ET production may contribute to the
breaking of dormancy in some species. Biochemical and genetic approaches continue to shed light on aspects of the mechanism of dormancy and
germination by identifying ET-mutants and genes that control these processes. This review updates and discusses the effects of ET in relation to the
process of acquisition and loss of seed dormancy