Antioxidants and Antioxidant Enzymes in Higher Plants

This book provides an overview of antioxidants and antioxidant enzymes and their role in the mechanisms of signaling and cellular tolerance under stress in plant systems. 

Major reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging/modulating enzymes include the superoxide dismutase (SOD) that dismutates O₂ into H₂O₂, which is followed by the coordinated action of a set of enzymes including catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and peroxiredoxins (Prx) that remove H₂O2. In addition to the ROS scavenging enzymes, a number of other enzymes are found in various subcellular compartments, which are involved in maintaining such redox homeostasis either by directly scavenging particular ROS and ROS-byproducts or by replenishing antioxidants. In that respect, these enzymes can be also considered antioxidants. Such enzymes include monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDAR), dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), glutathione reductase (GR), alternative oxidases (AOXs), peroxidases (PODs) and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs). Some non-enzymatic antioxidants, such as ascorbic acid (vitamin C), carotenes (provitamin A), tocopherols (vitamin E), and glutathione (GSH), work in concert with antioxidant enzymes to sustain an intracellular steady-state level of ROS that promotes plant growth, development, cell cycles and hormone signaling, and reinforces the responses to abiotic and biotic environmental stressors.

 

Offering a unique compilation of information on antioxidants and antioxidant enzymes, this is a valuable resource for advanced students and researchers working on plant biochemistry, physiology, biotechnology, and signaling in cell organelles, and those specializing in plant enzyme technology.

José Manuel Palma is Research Professor of antioxidants and free radicals in plant system and published more than 100 peer reviewed research papers and articles, and also edited five books from different publishers including three from Springer, and several special issues of diverse international journals. At present he is involved in the investigation of the interaction between nitric oxide and antioxidants during fruit ripening. He leads the research group 'Antioxidants, Free Radicals and Nitric Oxide in Biotechnology, Food and Agriculture' at the Estación Experimental del Zaidín, CSIC, Granada, Spain. He was also Deputy Director and Acting Director of such institute in the period 2007-2014. 

Francisco J. Corpas is a staff member of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) which has more than 25 years of research experience in the metabolism of antioxidants and nitric oxide (NO) in higher plants under physiological and adverse environmental conditions. At present, he is the Head of the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology of Plants at Research Institute named 'Estación Experimental del Zaidín'-CSIC, Granada Spain. He already published more than 150 refereed research papers/review articles in peer reviewed journals (according with Scopus database) and edited seven books.