Abstract
Polyamines (PAs) are small polycationic molecules which are present in all living organisms. PAs have been involved in a wide array of metabolic plant processes, extending from development to stress protection. Most of this knowledge has been achieved through the observation of PA homeostasis and manipulation of plant PA levels mediated by different approaches. This chapter summarizes the approaches undertaken to demonstrate the relationship between PAs and the stress response and, in particular, how the genetic manipulation of polyamine levels has evolved in a useful tool for the enhancement of plant stress tolerance in many species, including crops. This chapter also includes the most recent advances in the potential mechanisms of action by which polyamines could contribute to stress protection. Apart from a protective role based of its structural properties, PAs can also play regulatory roles, either directly or indirectly by the interaction with other signalling pathways including ion channel regulation, nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species (ROS) signalling and abscisic acid (ABA).
Keywords
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Acknowledgements
AFT and RA acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (grant numbers: BIO2011-29683, CSD2007-00036) and SGR2009-1060 of the Generalitat de Catalunya. RA acknowledges support from the Ramón y Cajal Programme (RYC-2011-07847) of the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain) and the Marie Curie Career Integration Grant (DISEASENVIRON, PCIG10-GA-2011-303568) of the EU.
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Marco, F., Bitrián, M., Carrasco, P., Alcázar, R., Tiburcio, A.F. (2015). Polyamine Biosynthesis Engineering as a Tool to Improve Plant Resistance to Abiotic Stress. In: Jaiwal, P., Singh, R., Dhankher, O. (eds) Genetic Manipulation in Plants for Mitigation of Climate Change. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2662-8_5
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