Use of Osmolytes For Improving Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Brassicaceae Plants: The Case of Proline |Biomedgrid

Osmolytes are low-molecular-weight compounds like amino acids, tertiary sulphonium and quaternary ammonium compounds, sugars and polyhydric alcohols. They are accumulated in the plant cytoplasm so as to balance the osmotic potential of the Na+ and Cl− accumulated in the vacuole. The osmolytes accumulation advantages are that they keep the main physiological functions of the cell active, the induction of their anabolism is controlled by environmental cues, and they can be synthesized at all developmental stages. In addition, osmolytes have crucial functions in protecting subcellular structures and in scavenging reactive oxygen species. This mini-review discusses the use of osmolytes in Brassicaceae plants and their role in osmoregulation and osmoprotection, using the proline as a model. Increasing the osmolyte content in plants is an interesting strategy to improve the growth and yield of crops upon exposure to salinity.