Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:6.3.2.3 (glutathione synthetase)
 678 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Glutathione (GSH), a major antioxidant in most aerobic organisms, is perceived to be particularly important in plant chloroplasts because it helps to protect the photosynthetic apparatus from oxidative damage. In transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing a chloroplast-targeted gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-ECS), foliar levels of GSH were raised threefold. Paradoxically, increased GSH biosynthetic capacity in the chloroplast resulted in greatly enhanced oxidative stress, which was manifested as light intensity-dependent chlorosis or necrosis. This phenotype was associated with foliar pools of both GSH and gamma-glutamylcysteine (the immediate precursor to GSH) being in a more oxidized state. Further manipulations of both the content and redox state of the foliar thiol pools were achieved using hybrid transgenic plants with enhanced glutathione synthetase or glutathione reductase activity in addition to elevated levels of gamma-ECS. Given the results of these experiments, we suggest that gamma-ECS-transformed plants suffered continuous oxidative damage caused by a failure of the redox-sensing process in the chloroplast.
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PMID:Elevated glutathione biosynthetic capacity in the chloroplasts of transgenic tobacco plants paradoxically causes increased oxidative stress 1040 29

To investigate the intercellular control of glutathione synthesis and its influence on leaf redox state in response to short-term chilling, genes encoding gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (gamma-ECS) and glutathione synthetase (GSH-S) were cloned from maize (Zea mays) and specific antibodies produced. These tools were used to provide the first information on the intercellular distribution of gamma-ECS and GSH-S transcript and protein in maize leaves, in both optimal conditions and chilling stress. A 2-d exposure to low growth temperatures (chill) had no effect on leaf phenotype, whereas return to optimal temperatures (recovery) caused extensive leaf bleaching. The chill did not affect total leaf GSH-S transcripts but strongly induced gamma-ECS mRNA, an effect reversed during recovery. The chilling-induced increase in gamma-ECS transcripts was not accompanied by enhanced total leaf gamma-ECS protein or extractable activity. In situ hybridization and immunolocalization of leaf sections showed that gamma-ECS and GSH-S transcripts and proteins were found in both the bundle sheath (BS) and the mesophyll cells under optimal conditions. Chilling increased gamma-ECS transcript and protein in the BS but not in the mesophyll cells. Increased BS gamma-ECS was correlated with a 2-fold increase in both leaf Cys and gamma-glutamylcysteine, but leaf total glutathione significantly increased only in the recovery period, when the reduced glutathione to glutathione disulfide ratio decreased 3-fold. Thus, while there was a specific increase in the potential contribution of the BS cells to glutathione synthesis during chilling, it did not result in enhanced leaf glutathione accumulation at low temperatures. Return to optimal temperatures allowed glutathione to increase, particularly glutathione disulfide, and this was associated with leaf chlorosis.
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PMID:Intercellular distribution of glutathione synthesis in maize leaves and its response to short-term chilling. 1504 2

Cadmium (Cd) is a strongly phytotoxic heavy metal, which inhibits plant growth and even leads to plant death. The main symptoms of Cd(2+) toxicity to plants are stunting and chlorosis. Plant has developed some functions for Cd(2+) tolerance, which include cell wall binding, chelation with phytochelatins (PCs), compartmentation of Cd(2+) in vacuole, and enrichment in leaf trichomes. However, Cd(2+) tolerance in plant is more likely involved in an integrated network of multiple response processes than several isolated functions cited above. In the network, the processes of sulfur metabolism, antioxidative response, and Cd(2+) transport across plasma and vacuole membrane in plant are closely related with Cd(2+) tolerance in plant. The processes of sulfur uptake, assimilation and sequential sulfur metabolism in plant respond to Cd(2+) stress. The expression of sulfur transporters with varied affinity was changed in different ways under Cd(2+) stress, and the high expression of ATP sulfurylase (APS) and adenosine 5' phosphosulfate reductase (APR), which may help to keep the supply of S(2-) for cysteine (Cys) synthesis. The efficiency of Cys synthesis may function in Cd(2+) detoxification, and the up-regulated expression of Ser acetyltransferase (SAT) and O-acetyl-ser (thiol)-lyase (OASTL) has been found in some Cd(2+) treated plants. Reduced glutathione (GSH) is an important antioxidant and the precursor of PCs, glutamylcysteine synthetase (GCS) and glutathione synthetase (GS) catalyze GSH synthesis from Cys, overexpression of the two enzymes can improve Cd(2+) tolerance in plant. PCs are more important Cd(2+) chelators than metallothioneins (MTs) in plants, and the expression of phytochelatin synthase (PCS) responds to Cd(2+) stress. Plant antioxidative system also contributes to Cd(2+) tolerance. The antioxidative response to Cd(2+)-induced oxidative stress varies in different plants and tissues and is also Cd(2+) concentration dependent, and the Cd hyperaccumulator plants show strong tolerance to oxidative stress. Some genes encoded metal transporters with Cd(2+) substrate specificity at plasma and vacuole membranes, which have been isolated and characterized in recent years. These genes play critical roles in Cd(2+) translocation, allocation, and compartmentation in plants. Despite the great progresses made in the field in recent years, there are still some issues which need further exploration, such as the detail of signal transduction and the responses of gene regulation to Cd(2+), the rhizosphere activation and root adsorption to soil Cd(2+), Cd(2+) trafficking in xylem and phloem, Cd(2+) translocation to fruit and seed, and the possible presence of a high-affinity Cd(2+) transporter in Cd hyperaccumulators.
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PMID:[Mechanisms of heavy metal cadmium tolerance in plants]. 1647 24

Phytoremediation is optimized when plants grow vigorously while accumulating the contaminant of interest. Here we show that sulphur supply alleviates aerial chlorosis and growth retardation caused by cesium stress without reducing cesium accumulation in Arabidopsis thaliana. This alleviation was not due to recovery of cesium-induced potassium decrease in plant tissues. Sulphur supply also alleviated sodium stress but not potassium deficiency stress. Cesium-induced root growth inhibition has previously been demonstrated as being mediated through jasmonate biosynthesis and signalling but it was found that sulphur supply did not decrease the levels of jasmonate accumulation or jasmonate-responsive transcripts. Instead, induction of a glutathione synthetase gene GSH2 and reduction of a phytochelatin synthase gene PCS1 as well as increased accumulation of glutathione and cysteine were observed in response to cesium. Exogenous application of glutathione or concomitant treatments of its biosynthetic intermediates indeed alleviated cesium stress. Interestingly, concomitant treatments of glutathione biosynthetic intermediates together with a glutathione biosynthesis inhibitor did not cancel the alleviatory effects against cesium suggesting the existence of a glutathione-independent pathway. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that plants exposed to cesium increase glutathione accumulation to alleviate the deleterious effects of cesium and that exogenous application of sulphur-containing compounds promotes this innate process.
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PMID:Glutathione and Its Biosynthetic Intermediates Alleviate Cesium Stress in Arabidopsis. 3203 83