US EPA

4300892 

Journal Article 

Review 

Low-molecular-weight thiols in plants: functional and analytical implications 

Pivato, M; Fabrega-Prats, M; Masi, A 

2014 

Yes 

Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics
ISSN: 0003-9861
EISSN: 1096-0384 

560 

83-99 

English 

25057770 

10.1016/j.abb.2014.07.018 

WOS:000342395500010 

Low-molecular-weight (LMW) thiols are a class of highly reactive compounds massively involved in the maintenance of cellular redox homeostasis. They are implicated in plant responses to almost all stress factors, as well as in the regulation of cellular metabolism. The most studied LMW thiols are glutathione and its biosynthetically related compounds (cysteine, γ-glutamylcysteine, cysteinylglycine, and phytochelatins). Other LMW thiols are described in the literature, such as thiocysteine, cysteamine, homocysteine, lipoic acid, and many species-specific volatile thiols. Here, we review the known LMW thiols in plants, briefly describing their physico-chemical properties, their relevance in post-translational protein modification, and recently-developed thiol detection methods. Current research points to a huge thiol biodiversity in plants and many species-specific and organ-specific thiols remain to be identified. Recent advances in technology should help researchers in this very challenging task, helping us to decipher the roles of thiols in plant metabolism.