Polyamines in Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek plant growth and development

Abstract

Polyamines (PA) are found in all organisms. Polyamines are small aliphatic amines that have more than two amine groups. There are three main polyamines that are found in plants namely putrescine, spermidine and spermine. They can exist in both free and combined forms. In the regulation of growth, development, polyamines have regulatory roles. Polyamines also help plants in biotic and abiotic stress. Being positively charged, polyamines have the ability to interact with negatively charged sites in molecules such as nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. Polyamines correlate with numerous vital biochemical functions, including protein regulation, regulation of chemiosmosis, and photoprotection in chloroplasts, ATP synthesis, ion channeling, and membrane fluidity. Through various studies it has been observed that exogenous PA application not only helped the plant to tolerate but also gave the plant resistance to several abiotic stresses (e.g. salinity, drought, water logging, osmotic stress, heavy metals, and extreme temperatures). Vigna radiata is native to India and is known as mung bean, mung dal, moong dal, mash bean, green gram, golden gram, and green soy. It is a major supplement of protein in vegetarian diets. Essential amino acids are present in good quantities among which Arginine, Phenylalanine, Leucine, Lysine are noteworthy. Vigna radiata is also a good source of vitamin, mineral and trace element as well as dietary fibres. Some varieties of mung bean possess excellent aroma and are called Sona mung (B1 variety). The present investigators have used the Sona mung for the study of polyamine in Vigna radiata along with other four different varieties, during the growth and development.