Polyamine Metabolism Responses to Biotic and Abiotic Stress

ROMERO, FERNANDO MATIAS; MAIALE, SANTIAGO J; ROSSI, FRANCO RUBÉN; MARINA, MARÍA; RUIZ, OSCAR ADOLFO; GÁRRIZ, ANDRÉS

Plant Polyamines: Methods and Protocols

Springer-USA

Año: 2018; p. 37 - 49

Plants have developed different strategies to cope with the environmental stresses they face during their lifecycle. The responses triggered under these conditions are usually characterized by significant modificationsin the metabolism of polyamines such as putrescine, spermidine, and spermine. Several works havedemonstrated that a fine-tuned regulation of the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis and catabolism ofpolyamines leads to the increment in the concentration of these compounds. Polyamines exert differenteffects that could help plants to deal with stressful conditions. For instance, they interact with negativelycharged macromolecules and regulate their functions, they may act as compatible osmolytes, or presentantimicrobial activity against plant pathogens. In addition, they have also been proven to act as regulators ofgene expression during the elicitation of stress responses. In this chapter, we reviewed the informationavailable till date in relation to the roles played by polyamines in the responses of plants during biotic andabiotic stress.