GASA Proteins: Review of Their Functions in Plant Environmental Stress Tolerance
Mohamed Taieb Bouteraa,
Walid Ben Romdhane,
Narjes Baazaoui,
Mohammad Y. Alfaifi,
Yosra Chouaibi,
Bouthaina Ben Akacha,
Anis Ben Hsouna,
Miroslava Kačániová,
Sanja Ćavar Zeljković,
Stefania Garzoli,
Rania Ben Saad
Affiliations
Mohamed Taieb Bouteraa
Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, B.P “1177”, Sfax 3018, Tunisia
Walid Ben Romdhane
Plant Production Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Narjes Baazaoui
Biology Department, College of Sciences and Arts Muhayil Assir, King Khalid University, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia
Mohammad Y. Alfaifi
Biology Department, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha 9004, Saudi Arabia
Yosra Chouaibi
Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, B.P “1177”, Sfax 3018, Tunisia
Bouthaina Ben Akacha
Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, B.P “1177”, Sfax 3018, Tunisia
Anis Ben Hsouna
Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, B.P “1177”, Sfax 3018, Tunisia
Miroslava Kačániová
Institute of Horticulture, Faculty of Horticulture, Slovak University of Agriculture, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia
Sanja Ćavar Zeljković
Centre of the Region Haná for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research, Department of Genetic Resources for Vegetables, Medicinal and Special Plants, Crop Research Institute, Šlechtitelů 29, 77900 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Stefania Garzoli
Department of Chemistry and Technologies of Drug, Sapienza University, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Rania Ben Saad
Biotechnology and Plant Improvement Laboratory, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax, B.P “1177”, Sfax 3018, Tunisia
Gibberellic acid-stimulated Arabidopsis (GASA) gene family is a class of functional cysteine-rich proteins characterized by an N-terminal signal peptide and a C-terminal-conserved GASA domain with 12 invariant cysteine (Cys) residues. GASA proteins are widely distributed among plant species, and the majority of them are involved in the signal transmission of plant hormones, the regulation of plant development and growth, and the responses to different environmental constraints. To date, their action mechanisms are not completely elucidated. This review reports an overview of the diversity, structure, and subcellular localization of GASA proteins, their involvement in hormone crosstalk and redox regulation during development, and plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. Knowledge of this complex regulation can be a contribution to promoting multiple abiotic stress tolerance with potential agricultural applications through the engineering of genes encoding GASA proteins and the production of transgenic plants.
