Christine H. Foyer

Bio: Christine H. Foyer is an academic researcher from University of Birmingham. The author has contributed to research in topics: Photosynthesis & Glutathione. The author has an hindex of 116, co-authored 490 publications receiving 61381 citations. Previous affiliations of Christine H. Foyer include Rothamsted Research & Newcastle University.

ASCORBATE AND GLUTATHIONE: Keeping Active Oxygen Under Control

Abstract: To cope with environmental fluctuations and to prevent invasion by pathogens, plant metabolism must be flexible and dynamic. Active oxygen species, whose formation is accelerated under stress conditions, must be rapidly processed if oxidative damage is to be averted. The lifetime of active oxygen species within the cellular environment is determined by the antioxidative system, which provides crucial protection against oxidative damage. The antioxidative system comprises numerous enzymes and compounds of low molecular weight. While research into the former has benefited greatly from advances in molecular technology, the pathways by which the latter are synthesized have received comparatively little attention. The present review emphasizes the roles of ascorbate and glutathione in plant metabolism and stress tolerance. We provide a detailed account of current knowledge of the biosynthesis, compartmentation, and transport of these two important antioxidants, with emphasis on the unique insights and advances gained by molecular exploration.

Redox homeostasis and antioxidant signaling: a metabolic interface between stress perception and physiological responses.

Abstract: Low molecular weight antioxidants, such as ascorbate, glutathione, and tocopherol, are information-rich redox buffers that interact with numerous cellular components. In addition to crucial roles in defense and as enzyme cofactors, cellular antioxidants influence plant growth and development by modulating processes from mitosis and cell elongation to senescence and death (De Pinto and De Gara, 2004; Potters et al., 2004; Tokunaga et al., 2005). Most importantly, antioxidants provide essential information on cellular redox state, and they influence gene expression associated with biotic and abiotic stress responses to maximize defense. Growing evidence suggests a model for redox homeostasis in which the reactive oxygen species (ROS)–antioxidant interaction acts as a metabolic interface for signals derived from metabolism and from the environment. This interface modulates the appropriate induction of acclimation processes or, alternatively, execution of cell death programs.

The presence of glutathione and glutathione reductase in chloroplasts: A proposed role in ascorbic acid metabolism.

Abstract: Both glutathione and an NADPH-dependent glutathione reductase are present in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) chloroplasts. It is proposed that glutathione functions to stabilise enzymes of the Calvin cycle, and it may also act to keep ascorbic acid in chloroplasts in the reduced form.

Ascorbate and glutathione: the heart of the redox hub.

Abstract: The discovery that there is a close relationship between ascorbate and glutathione dates from soon after the characterization of the chemical formulae of the two molecules ([Szent-Gyorgyi, 1931][1]; [Hopkins and Morgan, 1936][2]). Similarly, it has long been known that thylakoids can generate

Photooxidative stress in plants

Abstract: The light-dependent generation of active oxygen species is termed photooxidative stress. This can occur in two ways: (1) the donation of energy or electrons directly to oxygen as a result of photosynthetic activity; (2) exposure of tissues to ultraviolet irradiation. The light-dependent destruction of catalase compounds the problem. Although generally detrimental to metabolism, superoxide and hydrogen peroxide may serve useful functions if rigorously controlled and compartmentalised. During photosynthesis the formation of active oxygen species is minimised by a number of complex and refined regulatory mechanisms. When produced, active oxygen species are eliminated rapidly by efficient antioxidative systems. The chloroplast is able to use the production and destruction of hydrogen peroxide to regulate the thermal dissipation of excess excitation energy. This is an intrinsic feature of the regulation of photosynthetic electron transport. Photoinhibition and photooxidation only usually occur when plants are exposed to stress. Active oxygen species are part of the alarm-signalling processes in plants. These serve to modify metabolism and gene expression so that the plant can respond to adverse environmental conditions, invading organisms and ultraviolet irradiation. The capacity of the antioxidative defense system is often increased at such times but if the response is not sufficient, radical production will exceed scavenging and ultimately lead to the disruption of metabolism. Oxidative damage arises in high light principally when the latter is in synergy with additional stress factors such as chilling temperatures or pollution. Environmental stress can modify the photooxidative processes in various ways ranging from direct involvement in light-induced free radical formation to the inhibition of metabolism that renders previously optimal light levels excessive. It is in just such situations that the capacity for the production of active oxygen species can exceed that for scavenging by the antioxidative defense systems. The advent of plant transformation, however, may have placed within our grasp the possibility of engineering greater stress tolerance in plants by enhancement of the antioxidative defence system.

Mechanisms of salinity tolerance

Abstract: The physiological and molecular mechanisms of tolerance to osmotic and ionic components of salinity stress are reviewed at the cellular, organ, and whole-plant level. Plant growth responds to salinity in two phases: a rapid, osmotic phase that inhibits growth of young leaves, and a slower, ionic phase that accelerates senescence of mature leaves. Plant adaptations to salinity are of three distinct types: osmotic stress tolerance, Na + or Cl − exclusion, and the tolerance of tissue to accumulated Na + or Cl − . Our understanding of the role of the HKT gene family in Na + exclusion from leaves is increasing, as is the understanding of the molecular bases for many other transport processes at the cellular level. However, we have a limited molecular understanding of the overall control of Na + accumulation and of osmotic stress tolerance at the whole-plant level. Molecular genetics and functional genomics provide a new opportunity to synthesize molecular and physiological knowledge to improve the salinity tolerance of plants relevant to food production and environmental sustainability.

REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES: Metabolism, Oxidative Stress, and Signal Transduction

Abstract: Several reactive oxygen species (ROS) are continuously produced in plants as byproducts of aerobic metabolism. Depending on the nature of the ROS species, some are highly toxic and rapidly detoxified by various cellular enzymatic and nonenzymatic mechanisms. Whereas plants are surfeited with mechanisms to combat increased ROS levels during abiotic stress conditions, in other circumstances plants appear to purposefully generate ROS as signaling molecules to control various processes including pathogen defense, programmed cell death, and stomatal behavior. This review describes the mechanisms of ROS generation and removal in plants during development and under biotic and abiotic stress conditions. New insights into the complexity and roles that ROS play in plants have come from genetic analyses of ROS detoxifying and signaling mutants. Considering recent ROS-induced genome-wide expression analyses, the possible functions and mechanisms for ROS sensing and signaling in plants are compared with those in animals and yeast.

Hydrogen Peroxide is Scavenged by Ascorbate-specific Peroxidase in Spinach Chloroplasts

Abstract: Intact spinach chloroplasts scavenge hydrogen peroxide with a peroxidase that uses a photoreductant as the electron donor, but the activity of ruptured chloroplasts is very low [Nakano and Asada (1980) Plant & Cell Physiol. 21: 1295]. Ruptured spinach chloroplasts recovered their ability to photoreduce hydrogen peroxide with the concomitant evolution of oxygen after the addition of glutathione and dehydroascorbate (DHA). In ruptured chloroplasts, DHA was photoreduced to ascorbate and oxygen was evolved in the process in the presence of glutathione. DHA reductase (EC 1.8.5.1) and a peroxidase whose electron donor is specific to L-ascorbate are localized in chloroplast stroma. These observations confirm that the electron donor for the scavenging of hydrogen peroxide in chloroplasts is L-ascorbate and that the L-ascorbate is regenerated from DHA by the system: photosystem I-*ferredoxin-*NADP^>glutathione. A preliminary characterization of the chloroplast peroxidase is given.