InterPro domain: IPR045043

LEA (late embryogenesis abundant) proteins were first identified in land plants. Plant LEA proteins have been found to accumulate to high levels during the last stage of seed formation (when a natural desiccation of the seed tissues takes place) and during periods of water deficit in vegetative organs. Later, LEA homologues have also been found in various species [ 1 , 2 ]. They have been classified into several subgroups in Pfam and according to Bray and Dure [ 3 ].

This family includes Lea14-like proteins which contain a Water Stress and Hypersensitive response (WHy) domain, a region of unknown function found in several plant proteins involved in either the response to water stress or the response to bacterial infection [ 4 ]. This entry also includes WHy domain-containing proteins from bacteria. Their function is not clear.

1. LEA proteins during water stress: not just for plants anymore. Annu. Rev. Physiol. 73, 115-34
2. Highly hydrophilic proteins in prokaryotes and eukaryotes are common during conditions of water deficit. J. Biol. Chem. 275, 5668-74
3. LEA (late embryogenesis abundant) proteins and their encoding genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. BMC Genomics 9, 118
4. The WHy domain mediates the response to desiccation in plants and bacteria. Bioinformatics 21, 1304-7