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Sulfur Metabolism and Stress Defense Responses in Plants

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Abstract

Sulfur management is an important issue in crop plant nutrition. Sulfur has a role in fundamental processes such as electron transport, structure and regulation. It is also associated with photosynthetic oxygen production, abiotic and biotic stress resistance and secondary metabolism. Sulfate uptake, reductive assimilation and integration into cysteine and methionine are the central processes that direct oxidized and reduced forms of organically bound S into their various functions. Sulfur-containing defense compounds that are crucial for plant survival during biotic and abiotic stress include elemental sulfur, hydrogen sulfide, glutathione, phytochelatins, S-rich proteins and various secondary metabolites. Formation of these compounds in plants is closely related to the supply, demand, uptake and assimilation of S. This review will highlight the role of S during the stress response in plants and the relationship between S metabolism and primary S nutrition.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

ACCO:

1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase

ACCS:

1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase

Al:

Aluminum

AlCl3 :

Aluminum chloride

APR:

Adenosine 5′ phosphosulfate reductase

APX:

Ascorbate peroxidase

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

ATP-S:

Adenosine triphosphate-sulfurylase

AU:

Auxins

C:

Carbon

CAS:

β-cyanoalanine synthase

CAT:

Catalase

CbL:

Cystathionine β-lyase

Cd:

Cadmium

CgS:

Cystathionine γ-synthase

cDNA:

Complementary deoxyribonucleic acid

CK:

Cytokinins

Cys:

Cysteine

CysK:

Cysteine synthase

ET:

Ethylene

GA:

Gibberellins

DMSP:

Dimethylsulfonio-propionate

GLU:

Glutamate or glutamic acid

GLY:

Glycine

GPX:

Guaiacol peroxidase

GR:

Glutathione reductase

GS:

Glucosinolates

GSH:

Glutathione

H2O2 :

Hydrogen peroxide

H2S:

Hydrogen sulfide

HMT:

Homocysteine S-methyltransferase

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

JA:

Jasmonates

K:

Potassium

LCD:

L-cysteine desulfhydrase

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

MeJA:

Methyl jasmonate

Met:

Methionine

mRNA:

Messenger ribonucleic acid

MS:

Methionine synthase

MTs:

Metallothioneins

N:

Nitrogen

NaHS:

Sodium hydrosulfide

NR:

Nitrate reductase

OAS:

O-acetylserine

OASS:

O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase

OASTL:

O-acetylserine(thiol) lyase

OPHS:

O-phosphohomoserine

P:

Phosphorus

PA:

Polyamines

PAPS:

3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate

PCs:

Phytochelatins

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

RT-PCR:

Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction

RuBisCO:

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase

S:

Sulfur

S2− :

Sulfide

SA:

Salicylic acid

SAM:

S-adenosyl methionine

SAMDC:

S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase

SAMS:

S-adenosyl methionine synthetase, SAM synthetase

SAT:

Serine acetyltransferase

SiR:

Sulfite reductase

SLC13:

Sodium/ SO4 2− co-transporter

SLC26:

SO4 2−/anion exchanger in animals

SMM:

S-methylmethionine

SO2 :

Sulfur dioxide

SO3 2− :

Sulfite

SO4 2− :

Sulfate

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

SOT:

Sulfotransferase protein family

STs:

Sulfotransferases

SUL:

Proton/ SO4 2−co-transporter in yeast

SULTR:

Proton/ SO4 2−co-transporter in plants

TS:

Threonine synthase

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP – Brazil), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq – Brazil) and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES - Brazil) for continuous financial support over the years for our projects on this and related subjects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Genética, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias, 11, Piracicaba, SP, CEP 13418-900, Brazil

    Flávia R. Capaldi & Ricardo A. Azevedo

  2. Departamento de Biologia Aplicada à Agropecuária, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, SP, CEP 14884-900, Brazil

    Priscila L. Gratão & Leonardo W. Lima

  3. Engenharia de Biossistemas, UNESP - Univ Estadual Paulista, Tupã, SP, CEP 17602-496, Brazil

    André R. Reis

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  1. Flávia R. Capaldi
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  2. Priscila L. Gratão
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  3. André R. Reis
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  5. Ricardo A. Azevedo
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Correspondence to Ricardo A. Azevedo.

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Communicated by: Paulo Arruda

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Capaldi, F.R., Gratão, P.L., Reis, A.R. et al. Sulfur Metabolism and Stress Defense Responses in Plants. Tropical Plant Biol. 8, 60–73 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12042-015-9152-1

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