Cold Stress Response Mechanisms in Anther Development

Abstract

Unlike animals that can escape threats, plants must endure and adapt to biotic and abiotic stresses in their surroundings. One such condition, cold stress, impairs the normal growth and development of plants, in which most phases of reproductive development are particularly susceptible to external low temperature. Exposed to uncomfortably low temperature at the reproductive stage, meiosis, tapetal programmed cell death (PCD), pollen viability, and fertilization are disrupted, resulting in plant sterility. Of them, cold-induced tapetal dysfunction is the main cause of pollen sterility by blocking nutrition supplements for microspore development and altering their timely PCD. Further evidence has indicated that the homeostatic imbalances of hormones, including abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellic acid (GA), and sugars have occurred in the cold-treated anthers. Among them, cold stress gives rise to the accumulation of ABA and the decrease of active GA in anthers to affect tapetal development and represses the transport of sugar to microspores. Therefore, plants have evolved lots of mechanisms to alleviate the damage of external cold stress to reproductive development by mainly regulating phytohormone levels and sugar metabolism. Herein, we discuss the physiological and metabolic effects of low temperature on male reproductive development and the underlying mechanisms from the perspective of molecular biology. A deep understanding of cold stress response mechanisms in anther development will provide noteworthy references for cold-tolerant crop breeding and crop production under cold stress.

Single-Bud Expression Analysis of Bud Dormancy Factors in Peach

“…In our single-bud assay, we analysed the expression of three genes within this pathway ( AOC -like 1, AOC -like 2, and LOX -like), confirming their up-regulation in dormancy-released buds (S4). This increase has been related to the role of JA in anther development and pollen maturation [ 54 ], a process initiated in Prunus species just after dormancy release in flower buds [ 55 ], most likely due to the cold sensitivity of tapetum-dependent activity in pollen development [ 56 ]. Thus, one of the most prominent roles of bud dormancy could be to preserve pollen viability and fertility across the winter low-temperature period.…”

Alterations in intestinal microbiota and enzyme activities under cold-humid stress: implications for diarrhea in cold-dampness trapped spleen syndrome

“…Cold or humid environments are considered extreme conditions in both nature and human society, and they have been shown to adversely affect intestinal function and induce physiological and immune responses in animals (Scharf et al, 2019;Huang B. et al, 2022). There is a growing body of evidence indicating that cold or rainy conditions can amplify the incidence of diarrhea (Xu et al, 2013;Thongprachum et al, 2015;Thiam et al, 2017;Huang et al, 2021;Zolotova et al, 2021).…”