Bioactive small peptides in plants and their role in development and defense

Abstract

The majority of plants fulfill their life anchored to a substrate, so they manifest very efficient adaptive responses to changes in environmental factors and to the attack of herbivores and pathogens, which are very expensive energetically. The balance between growth and defense occurs through the temporary production of different growth regulators. These include a vast family of small peptides of between 12-24 amino acids, including SYSTEMIN and the CLAVATA3/EMBRYO SURROUNDING-RELATED family, which activate signaling cascades to resist stress or to modulate cell production necessary to repair the damaged tissues. The perception of such peptides occurs through their interaction with kinase proteins located in the plasma membrane, which transduce environmental sensing responses through phosphorylation events. This review article describes recent advances in the identification of active peptides in plants, with particular emphasis on their mechanisms of action, as well as their influence on plant growth and immunity.