In order to help explain the absence of the brown kelp Lessonia nigrescens from a coastal environment chronically enriched with copper, we characterized the biochemical responses induced by copper stress in this kelp and compared them with those displayed by the copper tolerant brown alga Scytosiphon lomentaria. These algae were cultivated with increasing concentrations of copper (20, 40 and 10...

Drought is considered one of the most acute environmental stresses presently affecting agriculture. We studied the role of exogenous glutathione (GSH) in conferring drought stress tolerance in mung bean (Vigna radiata L. cv. Binamoog-1) seedlings by examining the antioxidant defence and methylglyoxal (MG) detoxification systems and physiological features. Six-day-old seedlings were exposed to d...

Salinity negatively affects plant growth and causes significant crop yield losses world-wide. Maize is an economically important cereal crop affected by high salinity. In this study, maize seedlings were subjected to 75 mM and 150 mM NaCl, to emulate high soil salinity. Roots, mature leaves (basal leaf-pair 1,2) and young leaves (distal leaf-pair 3,4) were harvested after 3 weeks of sowing. Roo...

Trehalose is a non-reducing disaccharide that functions as a storage carbohydrate and osmoprotectant in yeast, fungi and certain insects. Endogenous trehalose also is present in trace amounts in flowering plants and metabolites derived from trehalose were necessary for embryo development. In contrast to its role in endogenous metabolism, exogenous trehalose is toxic to higher plants as evidence...

materials and methods total protein was determined by lowery method. bovine lens alr2 was partially purified by gel filtration chromatography on sephadextm g25. bovine cortex kidney alr1 was partially purified by diethylaminoethyl (deae) precipitation. the hydroalcoholic extract was obtained from frozen propolis. the enzyme activity and sorbitol accumulation in erythrocytes were determined spec...

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is essential to prevent disease associated with connective tissue (e.g., scurvy), improves cardiovascular and immune cell functions, and is used to regenerate alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E). In contrast to most animals, humans lack the ability to synthesize ascorbic acid as a result of a mutation in the last enzyme required for ascorbate biosynthesis. Vitamin C, therefor...

To identify the genetic factors underlying the regulation of fruit vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid [AsA]) concentrations, quantitative trait loci (QTL) studies were carried out in an F1 progeny derived from a cross between the apple (Malus × domestica) cultivars Telamon and Braeburn over three years. QTL were identified for AsA, glutathione, total antioxidant activity in both flesh and skin tissues,...

Salt stress negatively affects many physiological processes in plants. Some of these effects may involve the oxidative damage of cellular components, which can be promoted by reactive oxygen species and prevented by antioxidants. The protective role of antioxidants was investigated in Lotus japonicus exposed to two salinization protocols: S1 (150 mM NaCl for 7 d) and S2 (50, 100 and 150 mM NaCl...

Glutathione S-transferase is a family of multifunctional detoxification enzymes which are mainly cytosolic that detoxify natural and exogenous toxic compounds by conjugation with glutathione. Glutathione, an endogenous tripeptide, is important as either a reducing agent or a nucleophilic scavenger. This molecule alleviates the chemical toxicity in plants by reaction of glutathione S-transferase...

Glutaredoxins (Grxs) are small proteins that function as oxidoreductases with roles in deglutathionylation of proteins, reduction of antioxidants, and assembly of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster-containing enzymes. Which of the 33 Grxs in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) perform roles in Fe-S assembly in mitochondria is unknown. We have examined in detail the function of the monothiol GrxS15 in pl...