title: The link between flowering time and stress tolerance.
abstract: Evolutionary success in plants is largely dependent on the successful transition from vegetative to reproductive growth. In the lifetime of a plant, flowering is not only an essential part of the reproductive process but also a critical developmental stage that can be vulnerable to environmental stresses. Exposure to stress during this period can cause substantial yield losses in seed-producing plants. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that altering flowering time is an evolutionary strategy adopted by plants to maximize the chances of reproduction under diverse stress conditions, ranging from pathogen infection to heat, salinity, and drought. Here, recent studies that have revealed new insights into how biotic and abiotic stress signals can be integrated into floral pathways are reviewed. A better understanding of how complex environmental variables affect plant phenology is important for future genetic manipulation of crops to increase productivity under the changing climate.
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Agriculture, Queensland Bioscience Precinct, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Queensland Alliance for Agriculture & Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Queensland 4067, Australia Kemal.kazan@csiro.au.
authors.forename: Kemal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kazan
authors.affiliation: CSIRO Agriculture, Queensland Bioscience Precinct, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lyons
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D005075:Biological Evolution; D035264:Flowers / Q000254:growth & development*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics*; D013312:Stress, Physiological
keywords: Abiotic stress tolerance; Arabidopsis; GIGANTEA; drought; flowering time; heat; pathogen defence; plant hormones.