Smoke can break dormancy and promote seed germination of many plant species. We investigated changes in the gene expression changes after imbibition of light-sensitive Lactuca sativa L. cv. Grand Rapids achenes with dilute smoke water compared to water control samples kept in dark or continuous light. Although no difference was detected in the smoke water vs. water control samples germinated in light, smoke water treatment resulted in the differential display of several expressed sequence tags (ESTs) when compared to water control samples kept in dark. The most pronounced fragments isolated correspond to known genes with functions related to cell wall expansion, abscisic acid regulation, regulation of translation, the cell division cycle, carbohydrate metabolism and desiccation tolerance. These data clearly indicate that the smoke water, which stimulates germination of light-sensitive Grand Rapids lettuce seeds in the dark, rapidly affects genes that are essential for cell division, cell wall expansion and mobilization and utilization of nutrients for the resumption of embryo growth. Although the master genes remained unknown, our hope is that the using of maize microarray will reveal the whole molecular background of smoke action.