Antioxidant Mechanisms in Plant Stress Responses

Plants exposed to abiotic and biotic stresses commonly exhibit elevated production of reactive oxygen species that can inflict damage on lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. To mitigate this threat and maintain cellular homeostasis, plants employ a multifaceted antioxidant network comprising enzymatic defences such as superoxide dismutases, ascorbate peroxidases and catalases, alongside non-enzymatic molecules including ascorbate, glutathione and flavonoids. These components not only scavenge excess reactive oxygen species but also participate in redox signalling that orchestrates stress perception and induces adaptive gene expression. Spatial compartmentalisation of antioxidant enzymes in chloroplasts, mitochondria, peroxisomes and the cytosol ensures fine-tuning of redox balance across subcellular domains. Interconnections between pathways, such as the ascorbate–glutathione cycle, enable dynamic recycling of antioxidants and rapid modulation of the cellular redox state. Advances in transcriptomics and gene editing have revealed key regulatory nodes that couple light, water deficit, salinity or pathogen challenge to antioxidant gene circuits. Such insights underpin practical applications in crop improvement, from marker-assisted selection of alleles conferring enhanced reactive oxygen species scavenging to metabolic engineering of antioxidant capacity for greater resilience under climate-induced stresses. The global significance of this work extends across major staples and horticultural species, offering routes to safeguard yields and quality in environments increasingly characterised by extreme temperatures, drought or pathogen pressure.

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Antioxidant Mechanisms in Plant Stress Responses publication trend

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Technical terms

Reactive oxygen species (ROS): Highly reactive molecules derived from oxygen metabolism, including superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, that can damage biomolecules if not regulated.

Oxidative stress: A condition arising from an imbalance between reactive oxygen species production and the capacity of antioxidant defences, leading to cellular damage.

Antioxidant: Any molecule or enzyme capable of neutralising reactive oxygen species to protect cellular components from oxidative damage.

Ascorbate peroxidase (APX): An enzyme that reduces hydrogen peroxide to water using ascorbate as an electron donor, playing a central role in the ascorbate–glutathione cycle.

Catalase (CAT): A heme-containing enzyme that catalyses the disproportionation of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen, primarily located in peroxisomes.

References

1. Transcriptomic and genetic approaches reveal that low-light-induced disease susceptibility is related to cellular oxidative stress in tomato. Horticulture Research (2023).
2. ROS Homeostasis in Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2020).
3. Ascorbate Peroxidase and Catalase Activities and Their Genetic Regulation in Plants Subjected to Drought and Salinity Stresses. International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2015).