Study
A compound from smoke that promotes seed germination
Flematti, Gavin R.; Ghisalberti, Emilio L.; Dixon, Kingsley W.; Trengove, Robert D.
Science, 2004
It had been known for years that smoke, or water that smoke had been bubbled through, triggers germination in many fire-adapted plants — but nobody knew what in it was responsible. Smoke water was separated into fractions, each tested on seeds, and the active fractions repeatedly re-separated until a single compound could be isolated and its structure determined.
- Studied in
- Conostylis aculeata, Stylidium affine
- Sample size
- bioassay-guided fractionation of smoke water tested on fire-responsive seeds
The active agent is a butenolide, later named karrikinolide, active at concentrations as low as one part per billion. Pure synthetic compound reproduced the germination response.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
A single small molecule produced by the combustion of plant material acts as a germination cue in fire-adapted floras.
How NatureHQ reads it
Bioassay-guided fractionation is the method worth understanding: you cannot tell what a mixture is doing by analysing it, so you split it, test the halves, keep whichever works and split again until one compound is left. And the biology is elegant — the cue is a breakdown product of burnt cellulose, so a seed detecting it is detecting the one thing that reliably means a fire has passed and the canopy above it has gone.
- Isolated using Western Australian fire-adapted species; responsiveness varies enormously between floras.
- Karrikins are one of several germination-active components of smoke.
- How seeds perceive the compound was not established here.
Splitting smoke until one molecule was left
Water that smoke has been bubbled through makes fire-adapted seeds germinate. Smoke contains thousands of compounds — which one is doing it?
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: American Association for the Advancement of SciencePublished in Science or Science Advances (AAAS).
doi.org/10.1126/science.1099944
This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref on 2026-08-11.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-10.