LEA proteins in higher plants: structure, function, gene expression and regulation

Late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are mainly low molecular weight (10–30 kDa) proteins, which are involved in protecting higher plants from damage caused by environmental stresses, especially drought (dehydration). These findings and the fact that the breeding of drought tolerant varieties would be of great value in agriculture, form the basis of search for anti-drought inducible genes and their characterization. LEA proteins are generally classified into six groups (families) according to their amino acid sequence and corresponding mRNA homology, which are basically localized in cytoplasm and nuclear region. LEA protein synthesis, expression and biological activities are regulated by many factors (e.g. developmental stages, hormones, ion change and dehydration), signal transduction pathways and lea genes. No tissue-specific lea gene expression has been considered as one main regulatory mechanism on the basis of extensive studies with the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. The study of the regulatory mechanism of lea gene expression is an important feature of modern plant molecular biology.