Abstract
Polyamines (PAs) are small polycationic aliphatic amines and are ubiquitous in the plant kingdom. They play important roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses. Several research reports have established a correlation between their accumulation and salt stress tolerance in different plant species. Creditable research in the recent past has proved their vital roles in stress responses and adaptation strategies employed by plants, including scavenging of free radicals, neutralization of acids, and stabilization of cell membranes. They are able to bind several charged molecules including DNA, proteins, membrane phospholipids, and pectic polysaccharides, and have been credited with roles in protein phosphorylation and post-transcriptional modifications. They also play important roles in plant growth regulation, as well as acting as signaling molecules. Owing to their diverse functions in plant growth, development, and stress responses, they have emerged as potent targets for metabolic engineering to confer salt stress tolerance on manipulated plants. This chapter highlights their biosynthesis and transport, their exogenous applications to alleviate salt stress, and their metabolic engineering for developing salt-tolerant plants.
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Abbreviations
- ABA:
-
Abscisic acid
- ACC:
-
Aminocyclopropane carboxylate
- ADC:
-
Arginine decarboxylase
- APOX:
-
Ascorbate peroxidase
- cDNA:
-
Complementary DNA
- DAO:
-
Diamine oxidase
- dcSAM:
-
Decarboxylated S-adenosylmethionine
- EMS:
-
Ethyl methanesulfonate
- FAD:
-
Flavin adenine dinucleotide
- Fv/Fm:
-
Variable fluorescence/maximum fluorescence
- GABA:
-
Gamma aminobutyric acid
- GOT:
-
Glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase
- GPT:
-
Glutamate pyruvate transaminase
- GR:
-
Glutathione reductase
- GS:
-
Glutamine synthetase
- LAT:
-
L-type amino acid transporter
- NAD:
-
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
- NADH:
-
Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
- NADH-GDH:
-
NADH-dependent glutamate dehydrogenase
- NADH-GOGAT:
-
NADH–glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase
- NADPH:
-
Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate
- NDPK:
-
Nucleoside diphosphate kinase
- NO:
-
Nitric oxide
- ODC:
-
Ornithine decarboxylic acid
- ORF:
-
Open reading frame
- PA:
-
Polyamine
- PSII:
-
Photosystem II
- Put:
-
Putrescine
- PUT:
-
Polyamine uptake transporter
- ROS:
-
Reactive oxygen species
- SAM:
-
S-adenosylmethionine
- SAMDC:
-
S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase
- SAMS:
-
S-adenosylmethionine synthetase
- SOD:
-
Superoxide dismutase
- Spd:
-
Spermidine
- SPDS:
-
Spermidine synthase
- Spm:
-
Spermine
- SPMS:
-
Spermine synthase
- tSpm:
-
Thermospermine
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Acknowledgements
The research work in the corresponding author’s laboratory is supported by Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India funds (grant number EMR/2016/003896). The authors acknowledge the use of facilities created under DST-FIST and DBT Star College Schemes implemented at Modern College, Ganeshkhind, Pune, India.
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Khare, T., Srivastav, A., Shaikh, S., Kumar, V. (2018). Polyamines and Their Metabolic Engineering for Plant Salinity Stress Tolerance. In: Kumar, V., Wani, S., Suprasanna, P., Tran, LS. (eds) Salinity Responses and Tolerance in Plants, Volume 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75671-4_13
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