Abstract
The polyamines putrescine, spermidine and spermine have been implicated in a myriad of biological functions in many organisms. Research done during the last decades has accumulated a large body of evidence demonstrating that polyamines are key modulators of plant growth and development. Different experimental approaches have been employed including the measurement of endogenous polyamine levels and the activities of polyamine metabolic enzymes, the study of the effects resulting from exogenous polyamine applications and chemical or genetic manipulation of endogenous polyamine titers. This chapter reviews the role of PAs in seed germination, root development, plant architecture, in vitro plant regeneration, flowering and plant senescence. Evidence presented here indicates that polyamines should be regarded as plant growth regulators with potential applications in agriculture and plant biotechnology.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Tiburcio AF, Altabella T, Bitrián M, Alcázar R (2014) The roles of polyamines during the lifespan of plants: from development to stress. Planta 240:1–18
Alcázar R, Altabella T, Marco F, Bortolotti C, Reymond M, Koncz C, Carrasco P, Tiburcio AF (2010) Polyamines: molecules with regulatory functions in plant abiotic stress tolerance. Planta 231:1237–1249
Jancewicz AL, Gibbs NM, Masson PH (2016) Cadaverine’s functional role in plant development and environmental response. Front Plant Sci 7:870
Igarashi K, Kashiwagi K (2010) Modulation of cellular function by polyamines. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 42:39–51
Walters D, Meurer-Grimes B, Rovira I (2001) Antifungal activity of three spermidine conjugates. FEMS Microbiol Lett 201:255–258
Feng H, Chen Q, Feng J, Zhang J, Yang X, Zuo J (2007) Functional characterization of the Arabidopsis eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A-2 that plays a crucial role in plant growth and development by regulating cell division, cell growth, and cell death. Plant Physiol 144:1531–1545
Ibrahim EA (2016) Seed priming to alleviate salinity stress in germinating seeds. J Plant Physiol 192:38–46
Farooq M, Basra SMA, Rehman H, Hussain M (2008) Seed priming with polyamines improves the germination and early seedling growth in fine rice. J New Seeds 9:145–155
Savvides A, Ali S, Tester M, Fotopoulos V (2016) Chemical priming of plants against multiple abiotic stresses: mission possible? Trends Plant Sci 21:329–340
Cao DD, Hu J, Gao CH, Guan YJ, Zang S, Xiao JF (2008) Chilling tolerance of maize can be improved by seed soaking in putrescine. Seed Sci Technol 36:191–197
Yang L, Hong XU, Xiao-xia W, Yun-cheng L (2016) Effect of polyamines on wheat under drought stress is related to changes in hormones and carbohydrates. J Integr Agric 15:60345–60347
Ali RM, Abbas HM, Kamal RK (2009) The effects of treatment with polyamines on dry matter and some metabolites in salinity-stressed chamomile and sweet majoram seedlings. Plant Soil Environ 55:477–483
Li Z, Peng Y, Zhang XQ, Ma X, Huang LK, Yan YH (2014) Exogenous spermidine improves seed germination of white clover under water stress via involvement in starch metabolism, antioxidant defenses and relevant gene expression. Molecules 19:18003–18024
Rebecca LJ, Das S, Dhanalakshmi V, Anbuselvi S (2010) Effect of exogenous spermidine on salinity tolerance with respect to seed germination. Int J Appl Agric Res 5:163–169
Sedagahat S, Rahemi M (2011) Effect of pre-soaking seeds in polyamines on seed germination and seedling growth of Pistacia vera L. cv. Ghazvini. Int J f Nuts Relat Sci 2:7–14
Huang Y, Lin C, He F, Li Z, Guan Y, Hu Q, Hu J (2017) Exogenous spermidine improves seed germination of sweet corn via involvement in phytohormone interactions, H2O2 and relevant gene expression. BMC Plant Biol 17:1
Chunthaburee S, Sanichon J, Pattanagul W, Theerakulpisut (2014) Alleviation of salt stress in seedlings of Black glutinous rice by seed priming with spermidine and gibberelic acid. Not Bot Horti Agrobot 42:405–413
Iqbal M, Ashraf M, Rehman S-U, Rha ES (2006) Does polyamine seed pretreatment modulate growth and levels of some plant growth regulators in hexaploid wheat plants under salt stress? Bot Stud 47:239–250
Ferrando A, Carrasco P, Tiburcio AF (2009) Modulation of seed growth and development by inhibition of polyamine catabolism. Patent WO2009074700
Smith S, De Smet I (2012) Root system architecture: insights from Arabidopsis and cereal crops. Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B Biol Sci 367:1441–1452
Couée I, Hummel I, Sulmon C, Gouesbert G, El Amrani A (2004) Involvement of polyamines in root development. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 76:1–10
Celenza JL Jr, Grisafi PL, Fink GR (1995) A pathway for lateral root formation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Genes Dev 9:2131–2142
Zhang H, Jennings A, Barlow PW, Forde BG (1999) Dual pathways for regulation of root branching by nitrate. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96:6529–6534
Kende H, Zeevaart J (1997) The five “classical” plant hormones. Plant Cell 9:1197–1210
Martin-Tanguy J (2001) Metabolism and function of polyamines in plants: recent development (new approaches). Plant Growth Regul 34:135–148
Flores HE, Galston AW (1982) Polyamines and plant stress: activation of putrescine biosynthesis by osmotic shock. Science 217:1259–1261
Biondi S, Mengoli M, Mott D, Bagni N (1993) Hairy root cultures of Hyosciamus muticus-effect of polyamine biosynthesis inhibitors. Plant Physiol Biochem 31:51–58
Martin-Tanguy J, Carré M (1993) Polyamines in grapevine microcuttings cultivated in vitro-effects of amines and inhibitors of polyamine biosynthesis on polyamine levels and microcutting growth and development. Plant Growth Regul 13:269–280
Tiburcio AF, Amin Gendy C, Tran Than Van K (1989) Morphogenesis in tobacco subepidermal cells: putrescine as a marker of root differentiation. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 19:43–54
Cui X, Ge C, Wang R, Wang H, Chen W, Fu Z, Jiang X, Li J, Wang Y (2010) The BUD2 mutation affects plant architecture through altering cytokinin and auxin responses in Arabidopsis. Cell Res 20:576–586
Wu Q-S, Zou Y-N, Liu C-Y, Cheng K (2012) Effects of exogenous putrescine on mycorrhiza, root system architecture, and physiological traits of Glomus mosseae-colonized trifoliate orange seedlings. Not Bot Horti Agrobot 40:80–85
Tang W, Newton RJ (2005) Polyamines promote root elongation and growth by increasing root cell division in regenerated Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana Mill.) plantlets. Plant Cell Rep 24:581–589
Wu Q-S, Zou Y-N, Liu C-Y, Lu T (2010) Interacted effect of arbuscular mycorrizal fungi and polyamines on root system architecture of citrus seedlings. J Integr Biol 11:1675–1681
Tomar PC, Lakra N, Mishra SN (2013) Cadaverine: a lysine catabolite involved in plant growth and development. Plant Signal Behav 8(10)
Gamarnik A, Frydman RB (1991) Cadaverine, an essential diamine for the normal root development of germinating soybean (Glycine max) seeds. Plant Physiol 97:778–785
Strohm AK, Vaughn LM, Masson PH (2015) Natural variation in the expression of ORGANIC CATION TRANSPORTER1 affects root length responses to cadaverine in Arabidopsis. J Exp Bot 66:853–862
Liu T, Dobashi H, Kim DW, Sagor GH, Niitsu M, Berberich T, Kusano T (2014) Arabidopsis mutant plants with diverse defects in polyamine metabolism show unequal sensitivity to exogenous cadaverine probably based on their spermine content. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 20:151–159
Sagor GH, Berberich T, Kojima S, Niitsu M, Kusano T (2016) Spermine modulates the expression of two probable polyamine transporter genes and determines growth responses to cadaverine in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell Rep 35:1247–1257
Salabert A (1995) Obtaining and use of diamines, polyamines and other complementary active elements from treated natural products. Patent EP0726240A1
Reinhardt D, Kuhlemeier C (2002) Plant architecture. EMBO Rep 3:846–851
Doebley J, Stec A, Hubbard L (1997) The evolution of apical dominance in maize. Nature 386:485–488
Schumacher K, Schmitt T, Rossberg M, Schmitz G, Theres K (1999) The Lateral suppressor (Ls) gene of tomato encodes a new member of the VHIID protein family. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96:290–295
Ge C, Cui X, Wang Y, Hu Y, Fu Z, Zhang D, Cheng Z, Li J (2006) BUD2, encoding an S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, is required for Arabidopsis growth and development. Cell Res 16:446–456
Geuns JM, Smets R, Struyf T, Prinsen E, Valcke R, Van Onckelen H (2001) Apical dominance in Pssu-ipt-transformed tobacco. Phytochemistry 58:911–921
Murashige T (1974) Plant propagation through tissue cultures. Annu Rev Plant Physiol 25:135–166
Ikeuchi M, Ogawa Y, Iwase A, Sugimoto K (2016) Plant regeneration: cellular origins and molecular mechanisms. Development 143:1442–1451
Tran Thanh Van M (1973) Direct flower neoformation from superficial tissue of small explants of Nicotiana tabacum L. Planta 115:87–92
Kaur-Sawhney R, Tiburcio AF, Galston AW (1988) Spermidine and flower-bud differentiation in thin-layer explants of tobacco. Planta 173:282–284
Purohit SD, Singhvi A, Nagori R, Vyas S (2007) Polyamines stimulate shoot bud proliferation in Achras sapota grown in culture. Indian J Biotechnol 6:85–90
Ganesan M, Jayabalan N (2006) Influence of cytokinins, auxins and polyamines on in vitro mass multiplication of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L. cv. SVPR2). Indian J Exp Biol 44:506–513
Sivanandhan G, Mariashibu TS, Arun M, Kasthurirengan S, Selvaraj N, Ganapathi A (2011) The effect of polyamines on the efficiency of multiplication and rooting of Eithania somnifera (L.) Dunal and content of some withanolides in obtained plants. Acta Physiol Plant 33:2279–2288
Bajaj S, Rajam MV (1996) Polyamine accumulation and near loss of morphogenesis in long-term callus cultures of rice (restoration of plant regeneration by manipulation of cellular polyamine levels). Plant Physiol 112:1343–1348
Tiburcio AF, Figueras X, Claparols I, Santos M, Torné JM (1991) Improved plant regeneration in maize callus cultures after pretreatment with DL-alpha difluoro-methylarginine. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 27:27–32
Ammirato PV (1984) Induction, maintenance, and manipulation of development in embryogenic cell suspension cultures. In: Vasil IK (ed) Cell culture and somatic cell genetics of plants, vol 1. Academic Press, New York, pp 139–151
Jiménez VM, Bangerth F (2001) Endogenous hormone levels in explants and in embryogenic and non-embryogenic cultures of carrot. Physiol Plant 111:389–395
Bastola DR, Minocha SC (1995) Increased putrescine biosynthesis through transfer of mouse ornithine decarboxylase cDNA in carrot promotes somatic embryogenesis. Plant Physiol 109:63–71
Montague MJ, Armstrong TA, Jaworski EG (1979) Polyamine metabolism in embryogenic cells of daucus carota: II. Changes in arginine decarboxylase activity. Plant Physiol 63:341–345
Feirer RP, Mignon G, Litvay JD (1984) Arginine decarboxylase and polyamines required for embryogenesis in the wild carrot. Science 223:1433–1435
Wimalasekera R, Tebartz F, Scherer GFE (2011) Polyamines, polyamine oxidase and nitric oxid in development, abiotic and biotic stresses. Plant Sci 181:593–603
Andres F, Coupland G (2012) The genetic basis of flowering responses to seasonal cues. Nat Rev Genet 13:627–639
Wils CR, Kaufmann K (2017) Gene-regulatory networks controlling inflorescence and flower development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Biochim Biophys Acta 1860:95–105
Davis SJ (2009) Integrating hormones into the floral-transition pathway of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell Environ 32:1201–1210
Galston AW, Sawhney RK (1990) Polyamines in plant physiology. Plant Physiol 94:406–410
Walden R, Cordeiro A, Tiburcio AF (1997) Polyamines: small molecules triggering pathways in plant growth and development. Plant Physiol 113:1009–1013
Dai YR, Wang J (1987) Relation of polyamine titer to photoperiodic induction of flowering in Pharbitis. Plant Sci 51:137–139
Hamasaki N, Galston AW (1990) The polyamines of Xanthium strumarium and their response to photoperiod. Photochem Photobiol 52:181–186
Havelange A, Lejeune P, Bernier G, Kaur-Sawhney R, Galston AW (1996) Putrescine export from leaves in relation to floral transition in Sinapis alba. Physiol Plant 96:59–65
Wada N, Shinozaki M, Iwamura H (1994) Flower induction by polyamines and related compounds in seedlings of morning glory (Pharbitis nil cv. Kidachi). Plant Cell Physiol 35:469–472
Applewhite PB, Kaur-Sawhney R, Galston AW (2000) A role for spermidine in the bolting and flowering of Arabidopsis. Physiol Plant 108:314–320
Tiburcio AF, Kaur-Sawhney R, Galston AW (1988) Polyamine biosynthesis during vegetative-and floral-bud differentiation in thin-layer tobacco tissues cultures. Plant Cell Physiol 29:1241–1249
DeCantu LB, Kandeler R (1989) Significance of polyamines for flowering in Spirodela punctata. Plant Cell Physiol 30:455–458
Malmberg RL, McIndoo J (1983) Abnormal floral development of a tobacco mutant with elevated polyamine levels. Nature 305:623–625
Malmberg RL, McIndoo J (1988) Nicotiana plants with altered polyamine levels and floral organs. Patent US4751348
Gerats AG, Kaye C, Collins C, Malmberg RL (1988) Polyamine levels in petunia genotypes with normal and abnormal floral morphologies. Plant Physiol 86:390–393
Rastogi R, Sawhney VK (1990) Polyamines and flower development in the male sterile stamenless-2 mutant of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.): II. Effects of polyamines and their biosynthetic inhibitors on the development of normal and mutant floral buds cultured in vitro. Plant Physiol 93:446–452
Lu J-H, Honda C, Moriguchi T (2006) Involvement of polyamines in floral and fruit development. Jpn Agric Res Q 40:51–58
Woo HR, Kim HJ, Nam HG, Lim PO (2013) Plant leaf senescence and death – regulation by multiple layers of control and implications for aging in general. J Cell Sci 126:4823–4833
Thomas H, Ougham HJ, Wagstaff C, Stead AD (2003) Defining senescence and death. J Exp Bot 54:1127–1132
Jibran R, A Hunter D, P Dijkwel P (2013) Hormonal regulation of leaf senescence through integration of developmental and stress signals. Plant Mol Biol 82:547–561
Bais HP, Ravishankar GA (2002) Role of polyamines in the ontogeny of plants and their biotechnological applications. Plant Cell Tissue Organ Cult 69:1–34
Kaur-Sawhney R, Flores HE, Galston AW (1980) Polyamine-induced DNA synthesis and mitosis in oat leaf protoplasts. Plant Physiol 65:368–371
Tiburcio AF, Kaur-Sawhney R, Galston AW (1986) Polyamine metabolism and osmotic stress. II. Improvement of oat protoplasts by an inhibitor of arginine decarboxylase. Plant Physiol 82:375–378
Besford RT, Richardson CM, Campos JL, Tiburcio AF (1993) Effect of polyamines on stabilization of molecular complexes in thylakoid membranes of osmotically-stressed oat leaves. Planta 189:201–206
Capell T, Campos JL, Tiburcio AF (1993) Antisenescence properties of guazatine in osmotically-stressed oat leaves. Phytochemistry 33:785–788
Borrell A, Carbonell R, Farràs R, Puig-Parellada P, Tiburcio AF (1997) Polyamines inhibit lipid peroxidation in senescing oat leaves. Physiol Plant 99:385–390
Mehta RA, Cassol T, Li N, Ali N, Handa AK, Mattoo AK (2002) Engineered polyamine accumulation in tomato enhances phytonutrient content, juice quality, and vine life. Nat Biotechnol 20:613–618
Nambeesan S, Datsenka T, Ferruzzi MG, Malladi A, Mattoo AK, Handa AK (2010) Overexpression of yeast spermidine synthase impacts ripening, senescence and decay symptoms in tomato. Plant J 63:836–847
Sequera-Mutiozabal MI, Erban A, Kopka J, Atanasov KE, Bastida J, Fotopoulos V, Alcázar R, Tiburcio AF (2016) Global metabolic profiling of Arabidopsis polyamine oxidase 4 (AtPAO4) loss-of-function mutants exhibiting delayed dark-induced senescence. Front Plant Sci 7:173
Del Duca S, Serafini-Fracassini D, Cai G (2014) Senescence and programmed cell death in plants: polyamine action mediated by transglutaminase. Front Plant Sci 5:120
Park MH (2006) The post-translational synthesis of a polyamine-derived amino acid, hypusine, in the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A). J Biochem 139:161–169
Thompson JE, Tzann-Wei Wang T-W, Lu DL (2003) DNA encoding a plant deoxyhypusine synthase, a plant eukaryotic initiation factor 5A, transgenic plants and a method for controlling senescence programmed and cell death in plants. Patent US 6538182 B1
Wang TW, Lu L, Zhang CG, Taylor C, Thompson JE (2003) Pleiotropic effects of suppressing deoxyhypusine synthase expression in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Mol Biol 52:1223–1235
Wang TW, Zhang CG, Wu W, Nowack LM, Madey E, Thompson JE (2005) Antisense suppression of deoxyhypusine synthase in tomato delays fruit softening and alters growth and development. Plant Physiol 138:1372–1382
Kibe R, Kurihara S, Sakai Y, Suzuki H, Ooga T, Sawaki E, Muramatsu K, Nakamura A, Yamashita A, Kitada Y, Kakeyama M, Benno Y, Matsumoto M (2014) Upregulation of colonic luminal polyamines produced by intestinal microbiota delays senescence in mice. Sci Rep 4:4548
Stabyl GL, Basel RM, Michael S, Reid MS, Dodge LL (1993) Efficacies of commercial anti-ethylene products for fresh cut flowers. HortTechnology 3:199–202
Watkins CB (2006) The use of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on fruits and vegetables. Biotechnol Adv 24:389–409
Leshem YY, Wills RBH, Veng-Va Ku V (1998) Evidence for the function of the free radical gas – nitric oxide (NO) – as an endogenous maturation and senescence regulating factor in higher plants. Plant Physiol Biochem 36:825–833
Farahi MH, Khalighi A, Kholdbarin B, Akbar-boojar MM, Eshghi S (2013) Morphological responses and vase life of Rosa hybrida cv. dolcvita to polyamines spray in hydroponic system. World Appl Sci J 21:1681–1686
Ling X, ZhongShen W, Zifa D (2007) Effects of polyamines and penicillin on preservation of cut roses. J Nanjing For Univ Nat Sci Ed 31:53–56
Nada K, Kawaguchi T, Tachibana S (2004) Effects of polyamines in the vase water on the vase life of cut rose flowers. Hortic Res (Japan) 3:101–104
Dantuluri VSR, Misra RL, Singh VP (2008) Effect of polyamines on post harvest life of gladiolus spikes. J Ornam Hort 11:66–68
Upfold SJ, Van Staden J (1991) Polyamines and carnation flower senescence: endogenous levels and the effect of applied polyamines on senescence. Plant Growth Regul 10:355–362
Mahgoub MH, Abd El Aziz NG, Mazhar MA (2011) Response of Dahlia pinnata L plant to foliar spray with putrescine and thiamine on growth, flowering and photosynthetic pigments. American-Eurasian J Agric Environ Sci 10:769–775
Iman Talaat M, Bekheta MA, Mahgoub MM (2005) Physiological response of periwinkle plants (Catharanthus roseus L.) to tryptophan and putrescine. Int J Agric Biol 7:210–213
Mahros KM, El-Saady MB, Mahgoub MH, Afaf MH, El-Sayed MI (2011) Effect of putrescine and uniconazole treatments on flower characters and photosynthetic pigments of Chrysanthemum indicum L. Plant J Am Sci 7:399–408
Gelein C (1984) Catalogue: cut flowers-pot plants-bedding plants. Verenige Bloemenveilingen Aalsmeer, The Netherlands, pp 105–115
Tiburcio AF, Campos JL, Figueras X, Marce M, Capell T, Riera R, Bestford RT (1993) Polyamines and morphogenesis in monocots: experimental systems and mechanisms of action. In: Roubelakis-Angelakis KA, Tran Thanh Van K (eds) Morphogenesis in plants. Plenum Press, New York, pp 113–135
Miller SR, Abdulkadri A (2008) The U.S. economic impact of the IR-4 ornamental horticulture project. Dec 4, pp 1–18
Acknowledgements
A.F.T. acknowledges funding support from Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (BIO2011-29683). R.A. acknowledges further funding support from the Ramón y Cajal Program (RYC-2011-07847) of the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (Spain), the BFU2013-41337-P grant of the Programa Estatal de Fomento de la Investigación Científica y Técnica de Excelencia (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain) and a Marie Curie Career Integration Grant (DISEASENVIRON, PCIG10-GA-2011-303568) of the European Union. R.A. and A.F.T. are members of the Group de Recerca Consolidat 2014 SGR-920 of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Science+Business Media LLC
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Tiburcio, A.F., Alcázar, R. (2018). Potential Applications of Polyamines in Agriculture and Plant Biotechnology. In: Alcázar, R., Tiburcio, A. (eds) Polyamines. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1694. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7398-9_40
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7398-9_40
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-7397-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-7398-9
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols