Signal transduction pathways during cadmium stress in sunflower discs

IANUZZO MP., GROPPA MD., BENAVIDES MP, TOMARO ML

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Congreso; Baires Biotec 2005. Congreso internacional. Grupo Biotecnología. VI Simposio Nacional de Biotecnología. REDBIO Argentina 2005.; 2005

The reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been considered for many years an unavoidable consequence of living in an aerobic environment. But in recent years, accumulated evidence suggests that ROS such as superoxide anion (O2.-) and H2O2, function also as intracellular second messengers. Cadmium is a heavy metal that produce oxidative stress by still not completely clarified mechanisms. The objective of the present work was to elucidate which type of ROS mediates the signaling pathways involved in cadmium toxicity in sunflower leaves, by using several inhibitors in order to confirm the involvement of different enzymatic systems in ROS formation as well as the possible implication of O2.-/H2O2 in the signal transduction pathway during Cd2+ stress.