LAUSR

The post-translational modification is the fundamental reason for the most of the cellular signaling events. Plant shows meticulous response to survive in different environmental stresses. SUMOylation is one of the important post-translational modifications. Post-translational modifiers play a significant role in the alteration of protein stability, the interaction between proteins and the ultimate destiny of the protein. For expediting the plant to defend against the environmental stresses, conjugation of Small Ubiquitin-like Modifiers (SUMO) to intracellular proteins is the vital process. The numbers of isoform of proteins play a significant role in SUMOylation and de-SUMOylation reaction in SUMO process. SUMOylation is the process of post-translational modification of target proteins which may affect the crucial process of the plant growth and development. Among different plant growth and development processes, one of the remarkable roles of SUMO is a rapid defense against environmental challenges such as drought, cold, heat, nutrient deficiency, heavy metals, and salt stresses. Recently, studies have explored the additional roles of SUMO at the time of flowering, cellular growth and development processes, defense against pathogen infection and infestation. This review aims to critically present the current findings on roles and mechanisms involved in the regulation of protein SUMOylation. In summary, this review provides an overview of molecular mechanism of SUMOylation to defend and cope with abiotic stresses and to stabilize the normal growth and development of the plant.