Achieving Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants Through Antioxidative Defense Mechanisms

Overview

Journal Front Plant Sci

Date 2023 Jun 19

PMID 37332720

Authors

Neelam Mishra

Chenkai Jiang

Lin Chen

Abhirup Paul

Archita Chatterjee

Guoxin Shen

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Climate change has increased the overall impact of abiotic stress conditions such as drought, salinity, and extreme temperatures on plants. Abiotic stress adversely affects the growth, development, crop yield, and productivity of plants. When plants are subjected to various environmental stress conditions, the balance between the production of reactive oxygen species and its detoxification through antioxidant mechanisms is disturbed. The extent of disturbance depends on the severity, intensity, and duration of abiotic stress. The equilibrium between the production and elimination of reactive oxygen species is maintained due to both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidative defense mechanisms. Non-enzymatic antioxidants include both lipid-soluble (α-tocopherol and β-carotene) and water-soluble (glutathione, ascorbate, etc.) antioxidants. Ascorbate peroxidase (APX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione reductase (GR) are major enzymatic antioxidants that are essential for ROS homeostasis. In this review, we intend to discuss various antioxidative defense approaches used to improve abiotic stress tolerance in plants and the mechanism of action of the genes or enzymes involved.

Citing Articles

Exogenous γ-aminobutyric acid mitigates drought-induced impairments in Thymus daenensis Celak by regulating physiological traits, antioxidant enzymes and essential oil constituents.

Nasiri E, Shekari F, Abbasi A, Morshedloo M, Ghorbanpour M BMC Plant Biol. 2025; 25(1):336.

PMID: 40089673 DOI: 10.1186/s12870-025-06323-1.

Exploring Sustainable Fertilization Strategies Involving Biochar, Compost, and Inorganic Nitrogen: Impact on Nutrient Uptake, Yield, Phytochemical Accumulation, and Antioxidant Responses in Turnips.

Machado R, Alves-Pereira I, Velez D, Grilo A, Verissimo I, Ferreira R Plants (Basel). 2025; 14(4).

PMID: 40006788 PMC: 11858860. DOI: 10.3390/plants14040529.

The Combined Toxic Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics and Arsenate on Lettuce Under Hydroponic Conditions.

Mu L, Gao Z, Wang M, Tang X, Hu X Toxics. 2025; 13(2).

PMID: 39997901 PMC: 11860235. DOI: 10.3390/toxics13020086.

and Salicylic Acid Stimulate Resistance Responses in Against Infestation.

Bilal H, Boshoff W, Mohase L Plants (Basel). 2025; 14(3).

PMID: 39942982 PMC: 11820695. DOI: 10.3390/plants14030420.

Calcium Enhances the Effectiveness of Melatonin in Improving Nutritional Properties of Soybean Sprouts and Germination Under Salt and Cadmium Stress.

Adhikari A, Sapkota M, Savidya R, Tosin A, Adam M, Alam M Int J Mol Sci. 2025; 26(3).

PMID: 39940648 PMC: 11816511. DOI: 10.3390/ijms26030878.

References

Koussevitzky S, Suzuki N, Huntington S, Armijo L, Sha W, Cortes D . Ascorbate peroxidase 1 plays a key role in the response of Arabidopsis thaliana to stress combination. J Biol Chem. 2008; 283(49):34197-203. PMC: 2590703. DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M806337200. View

Hong C, Hsu Y, Tsai Y, Kao C . Expression of ASCORBATE PEROXIDASE 8 in roots of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings in response to NaCl. J Exp Bot. 2007; 58(12):3273-83. DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erm174. View

Foyer C, Lelandais M, Galap C, Kunert K . Effects of Elevated Cytosolic Glutathione Reductase Activity on the Cellular Glutathione Pool and Photosynthesis in Leaves under Normal and Stress Conditions. Plant Physiol. 1991; 97(3):863-72. PMC: 1081097. DOI: 10.1104/pp.97.3.863. View

Wang F, Wang Q, Kwon S, Kwak S, Su W . Enhanced drought tolerance of transgenic rice plants expressing a pea manganese superoxide dismutase. J Plant Physiol. 2005; 162(4):465-72. DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2004.09.009. View

Jiang M, Zhang J . Water stress-induced abscisic acid accumulation triggers the increased generation of reactive oxygen species and up-regulates the activities of antioxidant enzymes in maize leaves. J Exp Bot. 2002; 53(379):2401-10. DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erf090. View

Paul Ajithkumar I, Panneerselvam R . ROS scavenging system, osmotic maintenance, pigment and growth status of Panicum sumatrense roth. Under drought stress. Cell Biochem Biophys. 2013; 68(3):587-95. DOI: 10.1007/s12013-013-9746-x. View

Kocsy G, Szalai G, Galiba G . Induction of glutathione synthesis and glutathione reductase activity by abiotic stresses in maize and wheat. ScientificWorldJournal. 2003; 2:1699-705. PMC: 6009326. DOI: 10.1100/tsw.2002.812. View

Bah A, Dai H, Zhao J, Sun H, Cao F, Zhang G . Effects of cadmium, chromium and lead on growth, metal uptake and antioxidative capacity in Typha angustifolia. Biol Trace Elem Res. 2010; 142(1):77-92. DOI: 10.1007/s12011-010-8746-6. View

Tanou G, Filippou P, Belghazi M, Job D, Diamantidis G, Fotopoulos V . Oxidative and nitrosative-based signaling and associated post-translational modifications orchestrate the acclimation of citrus plants to salinity stress. Plant J. 2012; 72(4):585-99. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2012.05100.x. View

10.

Armada E, Roldan A, Azcon R . Differential activity of autochthonous bacteria in controlling drought stress in native Lavandula and Salvia plants species under drought conditions in natural arid soil. Microb Ecol. 2013; 67(2):410-20. DOI: 10.1007/s00248-013-0326-9. View

11.

Singh N, Mishra A, Jha B . Ectopic over-expression of peroxisomal ascorbate peroxidase (SbpAPX) gene confers salt stress tolerance in transgenic peanut (Arachis hypogaea). Gene. 2014; 547(1):119-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2014.06.037. View

12.

Caverzan A, Passaia G, Rosa S, Werner Ribeiro C, Lazzarotto F, Margis-Pinheiro M . Plant responses to stresses: Role of ascorbate peroxidase in the antioxidant protection. Genet Mol Biol. 2013; 35(4 (suppl)):1011-9. PMC: 3571416. DOI: 10.1590/s1415-47572012000600016. View

13.

Sofo A, Dichio B, Xiloyannis C, Masia A . Antioxidant defences in olive trees during drought stress: changes in activity of some antioxidant enzymes. Funct Plant Biol. 2020; 32(1):45-53. DOI: 10.1071/FP04003. View

14.

Sunkar R, Kapoor A, Zhu J . Posttranscriptional induction of two Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase genes in Arabidopsis is mediated by downregulation of miR398 and important for oxidative stress tolerance. Plant Cell. 2006; 18(8):2051-65. PMC: 1533975. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.106.041673. View

15.

Secenji M, Hideg E, Bebes A, Gyorgyey J . Transcriptional differences in gene families of the ascorbate-glutathione cycle in wheat during mild water deficit. Plant Cell Rep. 2009; 29(1):37-50. DOI: 10.1007/s00299-009-0796-x. View

16.

Zhang Z, Zhang Q, Wu J, Zheng X, Zheng S, Sun X . Gene knockout study reveals that cytosolic ascorbate peroxidase 2(OsAPX2) plays a critical role in growth and reproduction in rice under drought, salt and cold stresses. PLoS One. 2013; 8(2):e57472. PMC: 3585366. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0057472. View

17.

Passardi F, Bakalovic N, Karam Teixeira F, Margis-Pinheiro M, Penel C, Dunand C . Prokaryotic origins of the non-animal peroxidase superfamily and organelle-mediated transmission to eukaryotes. Genomics. 2007; 89(5):567-79. DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2007.01.006. View

18.

Zhu J . Abiotic Stress Signaling and Responses in Plants. Cell. 2016; 167(2):313-324. PMC: 5104190. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.08.029. View

19.

Karam Teixeira F, Menezes-Benavente L, Margis R, Margis-Pinheiro M . Analysis of the molecular evolutionary history of the ascorbate peroxidase gene family: inferences from the rice genome. J Mol Evol. 2004; 59(6):761-70. DOI: 10.1007/s00239-004-2666-z. View

20.

Vanderauwera S, Vandenbroucke K, Inze A, Van De Cotte B, Muhlenbock P, De Rycke R . AtWRKY15 perturbation abolishes the mitochondrial stress response that steers osmotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012; 109(49):20113-8. PMC: 3523852. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1217516109. View