A transcriptomic footprint of reactive oxygen species.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are a paradox for plants. ROS can be deleterious to cellular functions yet also are important signaling molecules. They are an unavoidable consequence of life in an oxygen-rich environment, and plants have devised numerous ways to deal with them, including changes in gene expression upon exposure. An article in the June 2006 Focus Issue on ROS, ‘‘Transcriptomic footprints disclose specificity of reactive oxygen species signaling in Arabidopsis’’ by Gadjev et al. (2006), looked into changes in the transcriptome due to ROS.