Seeds Come Pre-Loaded for Fast Action

All the metabolic proteins and molecular
machines are ready-made in seeds,
ready to roll into high gear

A seed looks dry and lifeless, but looks can be deceiving. German scientists decided to take a closer look at the interior of seeds. To their surprise, they found a complete set of proteins and molecular machines ready to kickstart growth – nearly the same set it will use when actively growing.

Their findings contradict an earlier assumption that a seed puts together the parts for growth after germination is triggered by water or other factors. No; a seed is ready to roll, and just needs the signal, “Gentlemen, start your engines!”

Seed mitochondria are equipped with cristae and a full proteome to kickstart germination (Ditz et al., Current Biology, 7 Sept 2026). Twenty-two scientists from 7 German universities used multiple advanced techniques to observe the interior of seeds. They focused on the mitochondria—the powerhouses of the cell—since germination requires a lot of energy. The team members must have felt they were looking at a fully-equipped factory ready to operate at full capacity at the flick of the switch.

Mitochondria of seeds face the challenge of remaining quiescent over long periods and rapidly resuming their respiratory function once environmental conditions become favorable. Despite the fundamental importance of mitochondrial functions for germination, the composition and functionality of seed mitochondria remain poorly understood. Previous work has suggested that dry seeds contain immature promitochondria largely devoid of cristae or respiratory complexes and that key mitochondrial functions need to be re-established by rebuilding a functional proteome to support germination. Here, we examined the onset of respiration in the germination of several plant species and investigated the composition of Arabidopsis seed mitochondria using cryo-preservation-based transmission electron microscopy, affinity- and centrifugation-based mitochondrial isolations, native gel electrophoresis, and advanced proteomic and protein localization analyses. Our data reveal pre-formed cristae, the full set of respiratory complexes in the mitochondria of dry seeds, as well as the presence of proteins for all key functions that mitochondria fulfill in vegetative tissues.

Welcome to another paradigm shift that, like many others, shows that life is far more complex than expected. Before getting into some amazing details of what they found, let’s dispense with the Darwinese in the paper that is simplistic, logically shallow and useless.

• “Seeds are a major innovation in plant evolution….” Begging the question.
• “effective strategies to preserve mitochondrial integrity have evolved.” Ditto.
• “rapid activation of respiration at imbibition is an evolutionary conserved trait….” Conserved means unevolved.
• “LEA proteins are widely distributed across evolutionarily distant species….” Non-sequitur regarding evolution.

With the DIDO fluff out of the way, let’s enjoy the findings in this important and fascinating paper. See also a press release about the paper from the University of Münster, one of the institutions involved.

Whole complexes of machines are in place and ready

One of the most amazing processes in the mitochondria, if not in all biology, is called oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). It is the process that takes in nutrients and oxygen and manufactures energy molecules called ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is the energy currency of life. Think of ATP molecules as coins you put into a vending machine to get an output. Virtually every process in life, with few exceptions, spends ATP to get work done. On a busy day, your body can recycle your entire body weight in ATP!

Even more fascinating is how ATP is made. It takes force to snap the third phosphate (P) onto ADP. To do this, cells contain a series of molecular engines: Complex I, Complex II, Complex III, Complex IV and Complex V. These machines work in series, the output of one feeding into the next down the line. Complex V is one of the most amazing molecular machines in all of biology: ATP synthase. It is a rotary motor that spins 6,000 RPM (or faster, up to 21,000 RPM), generating 3 ATP per revolution with near 100% efficiency. We have discussed it many times (search on keyword synthase). You can watch animations of its structure and mode of action here and here. Just keep in mind they are slow-motion animations; they spin so fast it would be a blur.

The upstream machines (Complex I, etc.) all serve to pump protons through the inner mitochondrial membrane, creating a proton motive force that drives ATP synthase like a turbine. All life uses these rotary engines. There are about a million of them per mitochondrion, and some 100 quintillion of these rotary engines in an average human body. [Statistics from Gemini AI]

Say hello to Cristae

These five machine complexes are situated along curvy membranes inside the mitochondrion called cristae. The curves of cristae, and the position of pairs of ATP synthase along them, maximize the proton flow into the rotary engines. The German team found that seeds already have cristae in their mitochondria, and they detected the presence of all the proteins making up the OXPHOS complexes. This makes a seed pre-loaded and ready-made for full operation.

In this study, we combined proteomic, biochemical, and imaging approaches to determine the composition of mitochondria in Arabidopsis cold-imbibed seeds. By comparison with published proteomic data on dry seeds and actively respiring tissue, we found that seed mitochondria are equipped with a full complement of proteins required for all known plant mitochondrial functions. Notably, we identified fully assembled OXPHOS complexes and the presence of cristae, even in dry seeds. We also demonstrate a rapid activation of respiration across multiple plant species. Altogether, our results support a model in which seed mitochondria are fully functional and ready for metabolic action, which contradicts the promitochondria model.

By analogy, one might say a seed is like a fully loaded laptop computer with all the components in place, ready to boot up and go to work. But it’s even more amazing in life, because seeds can grow and make copies of themselves! No human invention can do that.

Other molecular machines and enzymes are also pre-loaded in seeds

The German team of Ditz et al. found many other systems ready to roll. The family of LEA proteins (Late Embryogenesis Abundant proteins) were found; these act like shields to protect the germinating seed from damage. Additionally, HSPs (Heat-Shock Proteins) were found that also have important protective roles in stress response. Molecular machines that assist the OXPHOS complexes were also found, such as the TIM and TOM proteins that ferry material through the inner and outer mitochondrial membranes.

Seed mitochondria also contain the full set of TCA (tricarboxylic acid) cycle proteins necessary for supplying nutrients to the complexes. I asked Gemini, an AI engine, what else was found:

The paper highlights that the dry seed proteome is unexpectedly rich in enzymes dedicated to nucleotide metabolism. The machinery required to recycle, salvage, and manufacture nucleotides is fully in place. This allows the seed to immediately supply the massive pools of building blocks needed for heavy RNA transcription and DNA repair pathways.

Along with these, the seed contains ready-made catabolic enzymes, including amylases to break down starch, proteases to degrade stored proteins into amino acids, and lipases to break down fats. A germinating seed will need this machinery to draw down the stored food in the endosperm to “digest” it.

Commenting on the paper by Ditz et al., Gemini made this remarkable summary statement: “The seed does not just pre-build its power plant generators; it pre-installs the entire factory floor.”

The seed does not just pre-build its power plant generators; it pre-installs the entire factory floor.

Even tiny seeds have the complete factory pre-installed

I asked Gemini if the findings for Arabidopsis, the common lab plant thale cress, applies to other seeds—including some of the smallest, like the chia seed. The answer was yes: especially yes, since the tinier the seed, the less reserves are available. A sprouting chia seed has to get up and running quickly. Otherwise it will run out of energy before producing the first root or leaflet.

The next time you look at a very tiny seed, think of all that machinery inside!

One more thing: I asked Gemini if spore plants like ferns and fungi contain all this machinery. Its answer was yes! Spores have almost no reserves of nutrients like seeds do, so “a spore’s energy budget is razor-thin.” But if it lands in a moist environment with nutrients to draw on, it is ready with the machinery for growth. Spores are as small as dust to the human eye.

Genesis 1:11-12 proclaims God as the engineer of seeds.

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

These seeds reproduce “after their kind” the passage says. A kind encompasses more than one species, but there are limits to how far a kind can adapt and change. Creation scientists involved in baraminology (the study of baramins, or kinds) seek to find the limits of created kinds. If “kind” sounds unscientific to moderns, the definition of “species” means “kinds.” The father of taxonomy, Linnaeus, was seeking to catalog the Genesis kinds.

Jesus taught about tiny seeds and their potential:

With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade. (Mark 4:30-32).

I’ve seen mustard plants near Jerusalem, and they are very large. There is room for small birds to roost and nest on their branches. For skeptics who contend that smaller seeds exist, Jesus was speaking of seeds sown on the ground by farmers. In Jesus’ day, it was the smallest crop seed anyone would have sown. And it is small; it would take about 21,000 to equal one ounce. The point of this passage, and in the parallel passages in Matthew 13 and Luke 13, is that a very tiny thing can grow into something big. The band of 12 disciples was small, but they spread the gospel to the whole world.

Jesus also used mustard seeds as a metaphor for faith: “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (Luke 17:6). We can use today’s scientific finding to expand our understanding of what Jesus meant (and the Creator of seeds certainly knew what’s inside of seeds). He not only meant that it only takes very little faith to draw on the power of God, but that a tiny seed has all the machinery to grow into big faith. If you start with little faith, like the weeping father in Mark 9:24, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”, that is enough to lay hold of the power of God, who can move trees and mountains. The power is not in us, or in our words, or in our faith, but in God, with whom nothing is impossible. Look at the great Faith chapter in Hebrews 11 to see examples of weak, fallible humans drawing on the power of God by faith and seeing miracles happen. Consider one example: Moses prays and the Red Sea divides, and the people cross on dry land. Moses didn’t do it. God did the miracle in response to the faith of Moses, who believed God’s order to cross through the waters.

Do you have at least a mustard seed’s size of faith? Water it and watch it grow into something wonderful. Click here to start.