Tips and tricks for exogenous application of synthetic post-translationally modified peptides to plants

Abstract

The first signaling peptide discovered and purified was insulin in 1921. However, it was not until 1991 that the first peptide signal, systemin, was discovered in plants. Since the discovery of systemin, peptides have emerged as a potent and diverse class of signaling molecules in plant systems. Peptides consist of small amino acid sequences, which often act as ligands of receptor kinases. However, not all peptides are created equal, and signaling peptides are grouped into several subgroups dependent on the type of post-translational processing they undergo. Here, we focus on the application of synthetic, post-translationally modified peptides (PTMPs) to plant systems, describing several methods appropriate for the use of peptides in Arabidopsis thaliana and crop models.