Abscisic acid - an overlooked player in plant-microbe symbioses formation?

Abscisic acid (ABA) is an ubiquitous plant hormone and one of the foremost signalling molecules, controlling plants' growth and development, as well as their response to environmental stresses. To date, the function of ABA has been extensively investigated as an abiotic stress molecule which regulates the plants' water status. However, in the context of symbiotic associations, ABA is less recognized. In contrast to well-described auxin/cytokinin and gibberellin/strigolactone involvement in symbioses, ABA has long been underestimated. Interestingly, ABA emerges as an important player in arbuscular mycorrhiza and legume-rhizobium symbiosis. The plant's use of stress hormones like ABA in regulation of those interactions directly links the efficiency of these processes to the environmental status of the plant, notably during drought stress. Here we provide an overview of ABA interplay in beneficial associations of plants with microorganisms and propose ABA as a potential factor determining whether the investment in establishing the interaction is higher than the profit coming from it.