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1328097 
Journal Article 
Anoxic stress leads to hydrogen peroxide formation in plant cells 
Blokhina, OB 
2001 
Yes 
Journal of Experimental Botany
ISSN: 0022-0957
EISSN: 1460-2431 
52 
359 
1179-1190 
WOS:000169877400004 
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was detected cytochemically in
plant tissues during anoxia and re-oxygenation by transmission electron microscopy using its
reaction with cerium chloride to produce electron dense precipitates of cerium perhydroxides,
Anoxia-tolerant yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) and rice (Oryza sativa), and anoxia-
intolerant wheat (Triticum aestivum) and garden iris (Iris germanica) were used in the
experiments. In all plants tested, anoxia and re-oxygenation increased H2O2 in plasma membranes
and the apoplast, In the anoxia-tolerant species the response was delayed in time, and in highly
tolerant I. pseudacorus plasma membrane associated H2O2 was detected only after 45 d of oxygen
deprivation. Quantification of cerium precipitates showed a statistically significant increase in
the amount of H2O2 caused by anoxia in wheat root meristematic tissue, but not in the anoxia-
tolerant I. pseudacorus rhizome parenchyma. Formation of H2O2 under anoxia is considered mainly
an enzymatic process (confirmed by an enzyme inhibition analysis) and is due to the trace amount
of dissolved oxygen (below 10(-5) M) present in the experimental system. The data suggest
oxidative stress is an integral part of oxygen deprivation stress, and emphasize the importance
of the apoplast and plasma membrane in the development of the anoxic stress response. 
anoxia; apoplast; hydrogen peroxide; hypoxia; oxidative stress; reactive oxygen species