About this Research Topic

Background

Normal aerobic metabolism (via processes such as photosynthetic and respiratory electron transport chains) in plants yields varied reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as singlet oxygen (1O2), superoxide (O2.¬), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and the hydroxyl radical (OH¬). Among the major ROS, H2O2 is an important, relatively stable (under physiological conditions), water-soluble and a longer half-life exhibiting, non-radical w-electron reduction product of oxygen. It has ability to readily cross biological membranes. Literature clearly reflects a double role of H2O2 in normal and (biotic/abiotic)stressed plants. On one hand, H2O2 can be considered essential to plant life because of the involvement of its optimum concentrations in the regulation of specific biological/physiological processes such as photosynthetic functions, cell cycle, growth and development, and plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. On the other hand, severe damage to biomolecules such as cellular lipids and proteins and subsequent inactivation of key cellular functions are possible due to elevated and non-metabolized cellular H2O2 in biotic and abiotic stressed plants. Hence, H2O2 has been given much attention in rapidly increasing plant research during the last decades. However, critical discussions on the major physiological/biochemical and molecular insights into the components governing the double role of H2O2 in stressed and non-stressed plants have rarely been performed.

Hence, considering recent breakthroughs, this Research Topic, intends (but not limited) to:

(i) Overview H2O2 chemistry, and physiology/biochemistry, molecular biology of H2O2 function, generation and scavenging in plants;
(ii) Appraise techniques available for H2O2 detection in plants;
(iii) Critically discuss biotic and abiotic stress-mediated modulation of H2O2 function, generation and scavenging in plants;
(iv) Discuss H2O2 as a part of signaling network and present a cross-talk on H2O2 vs. cell redox system components; and H2O2 vs. proteins, lipids and nucleic acids;
(v) Assess interrelationships among oxidases, peroxidases and H2O2;
(vi) Evaluate H2O2-membrane transport, and H2O2-mediated modulation of the expression of various genes involved in normal and biotic/abiotic stressed plants;
(vii) Explore modulators of H2O2-signalling pathway and their cumulative role in plant growth and development and plant stress responses;
(viii) Highlight the significance and underlying mechanisms of H2O2-interaction with other plant signal molecules (such as salicylic acid, nitric oxide, abscisic acid, jasmonic acid, ethylene, kinases/mitogen-activated protein kinases, phosphatases, and calcium and potassium ions);
(ix) Discuss reports on H2O2-regulated miRNAs in plants and transcription factors acting downstream of H2O2; and
(x) Appraise the aspects so far unexplored in the current context.

Researchers are welcome to contribute to this Research Topic with Research Articles, Review Articles, Methods, Hypothesis, Theory, and Opinion articles.

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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