Late embryogenesis abundant proteins: versatile players in the plant adaptation to water limiting environments.

Late Embryogenesis Abundant (LEA) proteins accumulate at the onset of seed desiccation and in response to water deficit in vegetative plant tissues. The typical LEA proteins are highly hydrophilic and intrinsically unstructured. They have been classified in different families; each one showing distinctive conserved motifs. In this manuscript we present and discuss some of the recent findings regarding their role in plant adaptation to water deficit, as well as those concerning to their possible function, and how it can be related to their intrinsic structural flexibility.