reactive-oxygen-species
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive molecules derived from oxygen—including superoxide, hydrogen peroxide, and hydroxyl radicals—that are continuously produced as byproducts of plant metabolism, particularly during photosynthesis and respiration. In plant biology, ROS serve a dual role: at low levels they act as essential signaling molecules that regulate growth, development, and responses to environmental stresses such as drought, pathogen attack, and UV exposure, while in excess they can cause oxidative damage to proteins, lipids, and DNA. Understanding how plants produce, sense, and scavenge ROS is central to research on stress tolerance, cell death, and crop resilience.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-04-01
Plants use a toxic molecule called superoxide to control growth, fight off disease, and respond to stress — but they must also rapidly neutralize it to avoid self-damage. This review maps out how plants balance producing and destroying superoxide across different stages of development.
Superoxide acts as a signaling molecule that directs key stages of plant development, not just as a harmful byproduct of metabolism.
Plants employ a suite of specialized enzymes (such as superoxide dismutases) to rapidly convert superoxide into less harmful molecules, preventing oxidative damage.
The balance between superoxide production and scavenging is tightly regulated across different tissues and developmental stages, suggesting highly coordinated cellular control mechanisms.