Trienoic fatty acids and stress responses in higher plants

Trienoic fatty acids (TAs) are the most abundant fatty acid species in the membrane lipids of plant cells. While serving as the major structural organizers of biomembranes on the one hand, TAs play essential roles in mediating stress signaling on the other hand. This review focuses on recent studies proposing biochemical roles for TAs in abiotic and biotic stress tolerances, and on the emerging picture of transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms that act in coordination to optimize membrane TA levels under adverse environmental conditions.