LEA — Hordeum vulgare subsp. vulgare

Summary

HORVU.MOREX.R3.5HG0507390, designated HvLEA (also known as RAB21, HvRAB16A, and other synonyms), encodes a dehydrin family protein on barley chromosome 5H. The product exhibits lipid, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidate, and phosphoinositide binding activities. HvLEA is associated with responses to water, cold, heat, and abscisic acid, as well as cold acclimation, embryogenesis, seed development and germination, chlorophyll fluorescence, glucose effect, lipid transport, and homeostasis. It localizes to the vesicle membrane, cytosol, and nucleus. The gene is linked to traits including abscisic acid and sugar content, water use efficiency, heat and cold tolerance, photosynthetic rate, quantum yield, leaf size, and germination rate. Phenotypic associations include drought, salinity, desiccation tolerance, salt stress tolerance, seedling establishment, and ABA response. Studies of related genes in other species connect the family to drought tolerance, salt tolerance, grain yield, and winter survival.