Involvement of AsA/DHA and GSH/GSSG Ratios in Gene and Protein Expression and in the Activation of Defence Mechanisms Under Abiotic Stress Conditions
Date Issued
2010
DOI
10.1007/978-90-481-9404-9_10
Abstract
In a persistently changing environment there are many adverse abiotic
stress conditions such as cold, heat, drought, salinity, heavy metal toxicity and
oxygen deprivation, which remarkably influence plant growth and crop production.
Plant cells produce oxygen radicals and their derivatives, so-called reactive oxygen
species (ROS) during various processes associated with abiotic stress. Moreover,
the generation of ROS is the main means for higher plants to transmit cellular
signalling information concerning the changing environmental conditions.
Therefore, plants have evolved inducible redox state-based sensing mechanisms
that are activated or amplified in response to adverse environmental conditions.
Ascorbate and glutathione, the key cellular redox buffers, are used for both detoxification
of ROS and transmission of redox signals. In recent years, it has become
clear that abiotic stress conditions induce changes in the reduction/oxidation
(redox) state of signalling molecules, which in turn modulate gene and protein
expression to increase plant acclimation to abiotic stress. This important redox
state-related branch of science has given several clues in understanding the adaptive
plant responses to different stressful regimes. In this chapter, an overview of the
literature is briefly presented in terms of the main function of ascorbate and glutathione
in plant cells. Further more, we describe how important forms of abiotic
stress regulate the expression of genes and proteins involved in the ascorbate and
glutathione redox sensing system.
stress conditions such as cold, heat, drought, salinity, heavy metal toxicity and
oxygen deprivation, which remarkably influence plant growth and crop production.
Plant cells produce oxygen radicals and their derivatives, so-called reactive oxygen
species (ROS) during various processes associated with abiotic stress. Moreover,
the generation of ROS is the main means for higher plants to transmit cellular
signalling information concerning the changing environmental conditions.
Therefore, plants have evolved inducible redox state-based sensing mechanisms
that are activated or amplified in response to adverse environmental conditions.
Ascorbate and glutathione, the key cellular redox buffers, are used for both detoxification
of ROS and transmission of redox signals. In recent years, it has become
clear that abiotic stress conditions induce changes in the reduction/oxidation
(redox) state of signalling molecules, which in turn modulate gene and protein
expression to increase plant acclimation to abiotic stress. This important redox
state-related branch of science has given several clues in understanding the adaptive
plant responses to different stressful regimes. In this chapter, an overview of the
literature is briefly presented in terms of the main function of ascorbate and glutathione
in plant cells. Further more, we describe how important forms of abiotic
stress regulate the expression of genes and proteins involved in the ascorbate and
glutathione redox sensing system.