Diversity, distribution and roles of osmoprotective compounds accumulated in halophytes under abiotic stress
2015
Slama, Ines | Abdelly, Chedly | Bouchereau, Alain | Flowers, Tim | Savoure, Arnould | Laboratoire des Plantes Extremophiles ; Centre de Biotechnologie de Borj Cédria (Hammam-Lif, Tunisie) | Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes (IGEPP) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Rennes (UR)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST | School of Life Sciences ; University of Sussex | Adaptation de Plantes aux Contraintes Environnementales ; Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC) | COST action [FA0901]; Tunisian-French PHC UTIQUE network [29174UF]
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. Background and Aims Osmolytes are low-molecular-weight organic solutes, a broad group that encompasses a variety of compounds such as amino acids, tertiary sulphonium and quaternary ammonium compounds, sugars and polyhydric alcohols. Osmolytes are accumulated in the cytoplasm of halophytic species in order to balance the osmotic potential of the Na+ and Cl- accumulated in the vacuole. The advantages of the accumulation of osmolytes are that they keep the main physiological functions of the cell active, the induction of their biosynthesis is controlled by environmental cues, and they can be synthesized at all developmental stages. In addition to their role in osmoregulation, osmolytes have crucial functions in protecting subcellular structures and in scavenging reactive oxygen species. Scope This review discusses the diversity of osmolytes among halophytes and their distribution within taxonomic groups, the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence their accumulation, and their role in osmoregulation and osmoprotection. Increasing the osmolyte content in plants is an interesting strategy to improve the growth and yield of crops upon exposure to salinity. Examples of transgenic plants as well as exogenous applications of some osmolytes are also discussed. Finally, the potential use of osmolytes in protein stabilization and solvation in biotechnology, including the pharmaceutical industry and medicine, are considered.
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