ATP-sulfurylase, sulfur-compounds and plant stress tolerance

Sulfur (S) stands fourth in the list of major plant nutrients after N, P and K. Sulfate (SO42-), a form of soil-S taken up by plant roots is metabolically inert. As the first committed step of S-assimilation, ATP-sulfurylase (ATP-S) catalyzes SO42--activation and yields activated high-energy compoun...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Naser A. Anjum, Ritu eGill, Manjeri eKaushik, Mirza eHasanuzzaman, Eduarda ePereira, Iqbal eAhmad, Narendra eTuteja, Sarvajeet Singh Gill
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2015-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
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Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpls.2015.00210/full
Description
Summary:Sulfur (S) stands fourth in the list of major plant nutrients after N, P and K. Sulfate (SO42-), a form of soil-S taken up by plant roots is metabolically inert. As the first committed step of S-assimilation, ATP-sulfurylase (ATP-S) catalyzes SO42--activation and yields activated high-energy compound adenosine-5′-phosphosulfate (APS) that is reduced to sulfide (S2-) and incorporated into cysteine (Cys). In turn, Cys acts as a precursor or donor of reduced S for a range of S-compounds such as methionine (Met), glutathione (GSH), homo-GSH (h-GSH) and phytochelatins (PCs). Among S-compounds, GSH, h-GSH and PCs are known for their involvement in plant tolerance to varied abiotic stresses, Cys is a major component of GSH, h-GSH and PCs; whereas, several key stress-metabolites such as ethylene, are controlled by Met through its first metabolite S-adenosylmethionine. With the major aim of briefly highlighting S-compound-mediated role of ATP-S in plant stress tolerance, this paper: (a) overviews ATP-S structure/chemistry and occurrence, (b) appraises recent literature available on ATP-S roles and regulations, and underlying mechanisms in plant abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, (c) summarizes ATP-S-intrinsic regulation by major S-compounds, and (d) highlights major open-questions in the present context. Future research in the current direction can be devised based on the outcomes of the discussion.
ISSN:1664-462X