Antisense reduction of thylakoidal ascorbate peroxidase in Arabidopsis enhances paraquat-induced photooxidative stress and nitric oxide-induced cell death

Planta. 2005 Aug;221(6):757-65. doi: 10.1007/s00425-005-1485-9. Epub 2005 Mar 3.

Abstract

The production and characterization of Arabidopsis plants containing a transgene in which the Arabidopsis tAPX is inserted in antisense orientation, is described. tAPX activity in these transgenic tAPX plants is around 50% of control level. The tAPX antisense plants are phenotypically indistinguishable from control plants under normal growth conditions; they show, however, enhanced sensitivity to the O2- -generating herbicide, Paraquat. Interestingly, the tAPX antisense plants show enhanced symptoms of damage when cell death is triggered through treatment with the nitric oxide-donor, SNP. These results are in accordance with the ones recently obtained with transgenic plants overexpressing tAPX; altogether, they suggest that tAPX, besides the known ROS scavenging role, is also involved in the fine changes of H2O2 concentration during signaling events.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis / enzymology*
  • Arabidopsis / genetics
  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Ascorbate Peroxidases
  • Cell Death / physiology
  • DNA, Antisense
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Herbicides / pharmacology
  • Light
  • Nitric Oxide / physiology*
  • Oxidative Stress / physiology*
  • Paraquat / pharmacology*
  • Peroxidases / genetics
  • Peroxidases / metabolism*
  • Phenotype
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • Thylakoid Membrane Proteins
  • Thylakoids / enzymology

Substances

  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • DNA, Antisense
  • Herbicides
  • Thylakoid Membrane Proteins
  • Nitric Oxide
  • Peroxidases
  • APXT protein, Arabidopsis
  • Ascorbate Peroxidases
  • Paraquat