Seed germination and early development of the seedling are essential processes in plant growth. These processes are strictly regulated at the molecular level. Various abiotic stress factors such as salinity, overheating, and drought affect seed development during this highly vulnerable period of the plant's life. Subtilases are the most numerous group of proteases in the extracellular fluid of plants, and these proteases play a specific role in many aspects of the plant's growth and development. An increase in the activity of subtilases in barley grains (Galotta et al., 2019), as well as in wheat, rice, sorghum, and maize seeds (Galotta and Roberts, 2019) during germination has been shown. Among all subtilases, phytaspases are classified as a separate group of plant defense subtilases that participate in the development of stress in plants, including abiotic and biotic stresses (Chichkova et al., 2010). Recently, we have found the influence of abiotic stress factors on phytaspase activity in green parts of plants. Here, we show the relationship between the level of phytaspase activity in Nicotiana benthamiana seedlings and the course of germination and seedling development under some abiotic stresses, like salt stress, drought, and overheating. The study was funded by Shenzhen Municipal Government and Shenzhen MSU-BIT University.

Chichkova, N. V. et al. (2010) ‘Phytaspase, a relocalisable cell death promoting plant protease with caspase specificity’, EMBO Journal, pp. 1149–1161.

Galotta, M.F. et al. (2019) ‘Subtilase activity and gene expression during germination and seedling growth in barley’, Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 139.

Galotta, M.F. and Roberts, I.N. (2019) ‘A method for in vivo determination of subtilase activity in germinating seeds’, Journal of Cereal Science, 85.