Research Advances on the Biological Function of Raffinose Families Oligosaccharides in Seed Vigor and Abiotic Stress

Abiotic stress on plant growth and loss of seed vigor during seed storage are two difficult problems for agricultural production. Raffinose family oligosaccharide (RFOs), a soluble oligosaccharide, widely exsist in plants, the metabolites of which can participate in plant resistance to abiotic stress through various pathways and regulation of seed vigor. However, the regulatory pathways and molecular mechanisms of RFOs under different stresses are still not clear. Thus, analysis of the biological function of RFOs has practical significance and application value for improving crop economic traits and yield by using RFOs pathway. In this review, the synthesis and catabolic pathways of RFOs were expounded, and the recent research progress of RFOs in seed vigor, abiotic stress, especially drought stress and cold stress was summarized; the lack of mechanism study of RFOs metabolism were discussed, and the future research directions for RFOs metabolism were prospected.