RT Journal Article
T1 Contribution of glutathione to the control of cellular redox homeostasis under toxic metal and metalloid stress
A1 Hernández, Luis
A1 Sobrino Plata, Juan
A1 Montero-Palmero, Belén
A1 Carrasco-Gil, Sandra
A1 Flores-Cáceres, Laura
A1 Ortega-Villasante, Cristina
A1 Escobar, Carolina
AB The accumulation of toxic metals and metalloids, such as cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), or arsenic (As), as a consequence of various anthropogenic activities, poses a serious threat to the environment and human health. The ability of plants to take up mineral nutrients from the soil can be exploited to develop phytoremediation technologies able to alleviate the negative impact of toxic elements in terrestrial ecosystems. However, we must select plant species or populations capable of tolerating exposure to hazardous elements. The tolerance of plant cells to toxic elements is highly dependent on glutathione (GSH) metabolism. GSH is a biothiol tripeptide that plays a fundamental dual role: first, as an antioxidant to mitigate the redox imbalance caused by toxic metal(loid) accumulation, and second as a precursor of phytochelatins (PCs), ligand peptides that limit the free ion cellular concentration of those pollutants. The sulphur assimilation pathway, synthesis of GSH, and production of PCs are tightly regulated in order to alleviate the phytotoxicity of different hazardous elements, which might induce specific stress signatures. This review provides an update on mechanisms of tolerance that depend on biothiols in plant cells exposed to toxic elements, with a particular emphasis on the Hg-triggered responses, and considering the contribution of hormones to their regulation.
PB Oxford University Press
SN 1460-2431
YR 2015
FD 2015
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/100380
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/100380
LA eng
NO This work was funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (AGL2010-15151), Junta Comunidades Castilla-La Mancha (POII10-007-6458), and Comunidad de Madrid (S2009/AMB-1478).
NO Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)
NO Comunidad de Madrid
DS Docta Complutense
RD 14 dic 2025