Understanding a Mechanistic Basis of ABA Involvement in Plant Adaptation to Soil Flooding: The Current Standing
Yancui Zhao,
Wenying Zhang,
Salah Fatouh Abou-Elwafa,
Sergey Shabala,
Le Xu
Affiliations
Yancui Zhao
Hubei Collaborative Innovation Centre for Grain Industry, Engineering Research Centre of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China
Wenying Zhang
Hubei Collaborative Innovation Centre for Grain Industry, Engineering Research Centre of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China
Salah Fatouh Abou-Elwafa
Agronomy Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Assiut 71526, Egypt
Sergey Shabala
Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 54, Hobart 7001, Australia
Le Xu
Hubei Collaborative Innovation Centre for Grain Industry, Engineering Research Centre of Ecology and Agricultural Use of Wetland, Ministry of Education, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China
Soil flooding severely impairs agricultural crop production. Plants can cope with flooding conditions by embracing an orchestrated set of morphological adaptations and physiological adjustments that are regulated by the elaborated hormonal signaling network. The most prominent of these hormones is ethylene, which has been firmly established as a critical signal in flooding tolerance. ABA (abscisic acid) is also known as a “stress hormone” that modulates various responses to abiotic stresses; however, its role in flooding tolerance remains much less established. Here, we discuss the progress made in the elucidation of morphological adaptations regulated by ABA and its crosstalk with other phytohormones under flooding conditions in model plants and agriculturally important crops.
