Thermospermine is a structural isomer of spermine that plays a role in inhibiting xylem differentiation and can enhance the translation of SAC51 and SACL1 in Arabidopsis thaliana. Thermospermine is also used in studies as a plant growth regulator and for controlling wood biomass production.

The mutant defective in the biosynthesis of thermospermine, ACL5, shows a dwarf phenotype with excess xylem vessels in Arabidopsis thaliana. Exogenous supply of thermospermine remarkably represses xylem differentiation in the root of seedlings. Rice showed up-regulation of phloem-expressed genes, OsHB5 and OsYSL16, by one-day treatment with thermospermine.Expression of OsPAO2 and OsPAO6, encoding extracellular polyamine oxidase whose orthologs are not present in Arabidopsis, was induced by both thermospermine and spermine[3].