Progress of ABA function in endosperm cellularization and storage product accumulation

Seed development is a complex process and co-regulated by genetic and environmental factors, which significantly affects the seed vigor, yield and quality of crops, especially in cereal crops. Abscisic acid (ABA) regulates various biological processes in seed development, including endosperm and embryo development, accumulation of storage materials, achievement of desiccation tolerance and dormancy. Compared to the functional investigation of ABA in germination and stress response, the role of ABA in early seed development and storage product accumulation has not been collectively elucidated. Here, ABA origin in seed was concluded: both maternal source and de novo synthesis of ABA in seed play an important role in seed development. This review also provided an overview of the current knowledge on ABA in early seed development, mainly in endosperm cellularization. ABA promotes endosperm cellularization in Arabidopsis, but this notion has not been spread into cereal crops. Besides, the increasing importance of ABA in seed reserve accumulation was also emphatically described. In the last section, the key problems and challenges (e.g., where dose ABA come from at each stage of seed development? whether same regulators in response to ABA in Arabidopsis apply equally to cereal crops) were addressed.