AUTHOR=Sharma Kamal D. , Nayyar Harsh 

TITLE=Regulatory Networks in Pollen Development under Cold Stress

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2016.00402

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2016.00402

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Cold stress modifies anthers’ metabolic pathways to induce pollen sterility. Cold-tolerant plants, unlike the susceptible ones, produce high proportion of viable pollen. Anthers in susceptible plants, when exposed to cold stress, increase abscisic acid (ABA) metabolism and reduce ABA catabolism. Increased ABA negatively regulates expression of tapetum cell wall bound invertase and monosaccharide transport genes resulting in distorted carbohydrate pool in anther. Cold-stress also reduces endogenous levels of the bioactive gibberellins (GAs), GA<sub>4</sub> and GA<sub>7</sub>, in susceptible anthers by repression of the GA biosynthesis genes. Here, we discuss recent findings on mechanisms of cold susceptibility in anthers which determine pollen sterility. We also discuss differences in regulatory pathways between cold-stressed anthers of susceptible and tolerant plants that decide pollen sterility or viability.</p>