Abiotic stress specific phosphorylation in plant proteins: A review

In plants, post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins control all the major cellular processes and pathways by regulating the stability and functional accuracy of the nascent proteins. The importance of PTMs in plant systems can be advocated by a number of studies supporting the role of glycosylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination, nitrosylation and sumoylation in providing tolerance to plant systems in adverse environmental conditions by activating/deactivating the pre-existing cellular components. The mechanisms underlying the response of plants to abiotic stress have been extensively explored in the past decades. In addition, to the vast amount of knowledge obtained from the research at genetic and transcriptional level, there is a rapidly growing interest in plant scientists to examine the abiotic stress response of plants at the level of proteins and phosphorylation. In this article, we have summarized and discussed the recent reports implicating the prospects of PTMs in various abiotic stress regulations in plants, particularly highlighting the role of phosphorylation in this point of view. An exhaustive study of plant response to abiotic stress factors at post translational level will contribute to better understanding of physiological mechanisms underlying plant stress response and hence, aid in developing strategies that facilitate the improvement of abiotic stress tolerant crops.