Roles of Natural Abscisic Acids in Fruits during Fruit Development and under Environmental Stress

Phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) regulates the growth and development of plants as well as their response to environmental changes. Recently, the regulations of ABA during fruit ripening and stress resistance were discovered in two types of fruits (climacteric and non-climacteric fruits). However, it is challenging to understand the physiological, biochemical, and molecular biological mechanisms in fruit ripening and stress response controlled by ABA. ABA is involved in fruit development processes, including young fruit growth, fruit ripening onset, ripening process and quality formation. Meanwhile, ABA plays an important role in fruit adapting to environmental stresses. ABA works through the adjustment of its concentration and signal transduction. This review summarizes the current knowledge regarding ABA in the regulation of fruit development and ripening as well as in responses to environmental stresses.