No abstract

Research on plant responses to temperature stress is receiving increased interest due to the growing awareness about global warming. High and low temperature stresses help establish the narrow geographic distribution of some cultivated plants, the limited geographic extension of some other economically nutritionally important species, and also induce irregular bearing for some species. However, the understanding of plant responses to temperature stress lags behind other biotic and abiotic stresses probably due to the complex response at the molecular, cellular, and organismal level. Temperature stress affects, indeed, many developmental processes during the plant's life cycle. However, the reproductive stage, the outcome of which represents the economic value for many cultivated plants, is especially vulnerable. Here the effect of low and high temperature stresses during the flowering phase is reviewed in flowering plants in an attempt to unravel sensitive stages that are behind irregular cropping. The review presents detailed findings from 33 previously published reports spanning 19 different flowering plant species. Both the male and female organs of the flower are especially sensitive to temperature fluctuations both during their development before pollination and during the post-pollination stage. The effect of temperature stress is, however, obscured by the complex male-female interaction superimposed on the individual behavior of each organ. Interestingly, a review of the literature on this topic shows that genetic variation does exist in reproductive behavior under temperature fluctuations. This genetic diversity must be preserved and characterized in further detail to understand how plants naturally cope with changing environmental conditions, which will, undoubtedly, help us to design better strategies to face current and future challenging temperature fluctuations.

Prevailing ambient temperature during the reproductive phase is one of several important factors for seed and fruit set in different plant species, and its consequences on reproductive success may increase with global warming. The effect of temperature on pollen performance was evaluated in sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.), comparing as pollen donors two cultivars that differ in their adaptation to temperature. 'Sunburst' is a cultivar that originated in Canada with a pedigree of cultivars from Northern Europe, while 'Cristobalina' is a cultivar native to southeast Spain, adapted to warmer conditions. Temperature effects were tested either in controlled-temperature chambers or in the field in a plastic cage. In both genotypes, an increase in temperature reduced pollen germination, but accelerated pollen tube growth. However, a different genotypic response, which reflected the overall adaptation of the pollen donor, was obtained for pollen tube dynamics, expressed as the census of the microgametophyte population that successfully reached the base of the style. While both cultivars performed similarly at 20°C, the microgametophyte population was reduced at 30°C for Sunburst and at 10°C for Cristobalina. These results indicate a differential genotypic response to temperature during the reproductive phase, which could be important in terms of the time needed for a plant species to adapt to rapid temperature changes.

Temperature is a major climatic factor that limits geographical distribution of plant species, and the reproductive phase has proven to be one of the most temperature-vulnerable stages. Here, we have used peach to evaluate the effect of temperature on some processes of the progamic phase, from pollination to the arrival of pollen tubes in the ovary. Within the range of temperatures studied, 20 degrees C in the laboratory and, on average, 5.7 degrees C in the field, the results show an accelerating effect of increasing temperature on pollen germination and pollen tube growth kinetics, as well as an increase in the number of pollen tubes that reach the style base. For the last two parameters, although the range of temperature registered in the field was much lower, the results obtained in the laboratory paralleled those obtained in the field. Increasing temperatures drastically reduced stigmatic receptivity. Reduction was sequential, with stigmas first losing the capacity to sustain pollen tube penetration to the transmitting tissue, then their capacity to offer support for pollen germination and, finally, their capacity to support pollen grain adhesion. Within a species-specific range of temperature, this apparent opposite effect of temperature on the male and female side could provide plants with the plasticity to withstand changing environmental effects, ensuring a good level of fertilization.