Our interest is to elucidate the roles of Polyamines, as inducers of longevity, through the modulation of the autophagy pathway. This function of Polyamines has been shown in animals, but it has not been explored to date in plants. We hypothesize that similar functions are conserved in higher plants with important biotechnologial applications. Among the different roles of Polyamines in the process of autophagy, the Spermidine-mediated activation of the translation factor eIF5A emerges as a key regulator of plant growth and senescence. We have pioneered on the elucidaton of eIF5A functions in the model plant Arabidopsis and our current efforts address the characterization of eIF5A’s roles in plant autophagy.