title: Cross-talk between environmental stresses and plant metabolism during reproductive organ abscission.
abstract: In plants, flowering is a crucial process for reproductive success and continuity of the species through time. Fruit production requires the perfect development of reproductive structures. Abscission, a natural process, can occur to facilitate shedding of no longer needed, infected, or damaged organs. If stress occurs during flower development, abscission can intervene at flower level, leading to reduced yield. Flower abscission is a highly regulated developmental process simultaneously influenced and activated in response to exogenous (changing environmental conditions, interactions with microorganisms) and endogenous (physiological modifications) stimuli. During climate change, plant communities will be more susceptible to environmental stresses, leading to increased flower and fruit abscission, and consequently a decrease in fruit yield. Understanding the impacts of stress on the reproductive phase is therefore critical for managing future agricultural productivity. Here, current knowledge on flower/fruit abscission is summarized by focusing specifically on effects of environmental stresses leading to this process in woody plants. Many of these stresses impair hormonal balance and/or carbohydrate metabolism, but the exact mechanisms are far from completely known. Hormones are the abscission effectors and the auxin/ethylene balance is of particular importance. The carbohydrate pathway is the result of complex regulatory processes involving the balance between photosynthesis and mobilization of reserves. Hormones and carbohydrates together participate in complex signal transduction systems, especially in response to stress. The available data are discussed in relation to reproductive organ development and the process of abscission.
authors.affiliation: Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Unité de Recherche Vignes et Vins de Champagne - EA 4707, Moulin de la Housse - Bâtiment 18, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France.
authors.forename: Mélodie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sawicki
authors.affiliation: Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Unité de Recherche Vignes et Vins de Champagne - EA 4707, Moulin de la Housse - Bâtiment 18, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France.
authors.forename: Essaïd
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aït Barka
authors.affiliation: Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Unité de Recherche Vignes et Vins de Champagne - EA 4707, Moulin de la Housse - Bâtiment 18, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Clément
authors.affiliation: Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Unité de Recherche Vignes et Vins de Champagne - EA 4707, Moulin de la Housse - Bâtiment 18, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vaillant-Gaveau
authors.affiliation: Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, UFR Sciences Exactes et Naturelles, Unité de Recherche Vignes et Vins de Champagne - EA 4707, Moulin de la Housse - Bâtiment 18, BP 1039, 51687 Reims Cedex 2, France cedric.jacquard@univ-reims.fr.
authors.forename: Cédric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jacquard
mesh_terms: D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D005030:Ethylenes / Q000378:metabolism; D035264:Flowers / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005638:Fruit / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D010788:Photosynthesis; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000378:metabolism*; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D012098:Reproduction; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D005030:Ethylenes; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; C036216:ethylene
keywords: Carbon metabolism; climate change; environmental stress; flower/fruit abscission; hormonal balance.