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Published on: August 15, 2017
Profiling the aminopropyltransferases in plants: their structure, expression and manipulation
Lin Shao1, Rajtilak Majumdar, Subhash C Minocha
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA.
Amino Acids
|August 24, 2011
Summary
Plant aminopropyltransferases synthesize higher polyamines like spermidine and spermine. Understanding their regulation is key for improving plant nutrition and stress tolerance through genetic engineering.
Area of Science:
- Plant biochemistry and molecular biology
- Metabolomics and stress physiology
Background:
- Polyamines are crucial organic polycations regulating plant growth, development, and stress responses.
- Aminopropyltransferases synthesize higher polyamines (spermidine, spermine) from putrescine and spermidine.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively review plant aminopropyltransferases.
- To summarize their distribution, properties, genomics, expression, and stress responses.
- To discuss manipulation of their activity via inhibitors, mutations, and genetic engineering.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis of existing research.
- Analysis of genomic organization and expression patterns.
- Examination of biochemical properties and cellular regulation.
Main Results:
- Plants often possess redundant aminopropyltransferase gene copies with conserved genomic organization.
- Enzyme activity data is scarce, and transcript levels poorly correlate with polyamine content.
- Transgenic studies confirm tight homeostatic regulation of spermidine and spermine.
Conclusions:
- Aminopropyltransferases are significant for polyamine homeostasis in plants.
- Further understanding of their metabolic regulation is vital for crop improvement.
- Genetic engineering approaches can enhance plant nutritional value and stress resilience.
