Durum wheat plants (Triticum durum cv Creso) were grown in the presence of cadmium (0–40 μM) and analysed after 3 and 7 d for their growth, oxidative stress markers, phytochelatins, and enzymes and metabolites of the ascorbate (ASC)–glutathione (GSH) cycle. Cd exposure produced a dose-dependent inhibition of growth in both roots and leaves. Lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation and the decrease in the ascorbate redox state indicate the presence of oxidative stress in the roots, where H₂O₂ overproduction and phytochelatin synthesis also occurred. The activity of the ASC–GSH cycle enzymes significantly increased in roots. Consistently, a dose-dependent accumulation of Cd was evident in these organs. On the other hand, no oxidative stress symptoms or phytochelatin synthesis occurred in the leaves; where, at least during the time of our analysis, the levels of Cd remained irrelevant. In spite of this, enzymes of the ASC–GSH cycle significantly increased their activity in the leaves. When ASC biosynthesis was enhanced, by feeding plants with its last precursor, l-galactono-γ-lactone (GL), Cd uptake was not affected. On the other hand, the oxidative stress induced in the roots by the heavy metal was alleviated. GL treatment also inhibited the Cd-dependent phytochelatin biosynthesis. These results suggest that different strategies can successfully cope with heavy metal toxicity. The changes that occurred in the ASC–GSH cycle enzymes of the leaves also suggest that the whole plant improved its antioxidant defense, even in those parts which had not yet been reached by Cd. This precocious increase in the enzymes of the ASC–GSH cycle further highlight the tight regulation and the relevance of this cycle in the defense against heavy metals.

Nitric oxide (NO) has been postulated to be required, together with reactive oxygen species (ROS), for the activation of the hypersensitive reaction, a defense response induced in the noncompatible plant-pathogen interaction. However, its involvement in activating programmed cell death (PCD) in plant cells has been questioned. In this paper, the involvement of the cellular antioxidant metabolism in the signal transduction triggered by these bioactive molecules has been investigated. NO and ROS levels were singularly or simultaneously increased in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv Bright-Yellow 2) cells by the addition to the culture medium of NO and/or ROS generators. The individual increase in NO or ROS had different effects on the studied parameters than the simultaneous increase in the two reactive species. NO generation did not cause an increase in phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity or induction of cellular death. It only induced minor changes in ascorbate (ASC) and glutathione (GSH) metabolisms. An increase in ROS induced oxidative stress in the cells, causing an oxidation of the ASC and GSH redox pairs; however, it had no effect on PAL activity and did not induce cell death when it was generated at low concentrations. In contrast, the simultaneous increase of NO and ROS activated a process of death with the typical cytological and biochemical features of hypersensitive PCD and a remarkable rise in PAL activity. Under the simultaneous generation of NO and ROS, the cellular antioxidant capabilities were also suppressed. The involvement of ASC and GSH as part of the transduction pathway leading to PCD is discussed.

Large changes occur in the ascorbate system during the development of Vicia faba seed and these appear closely related to what are generally considered to be the three stages of embryogenesis. During the first stage, characterized by embryonic cells with high mitotic activity, the ascorbic acid/dehydroascorbic acid ratio is about 7, whereas in the following stage, characterized by rapid cell elongation (stage 2), it is lower than 1. The different ascorbic/dehydroascorbic ratio may be correlated with the level of ascorbate free radical reductase activity, which is high in stage 1 and lower in stage 2. Ascorbate peroxidase activity is high and remains constant throughout stages 1 and 2, but it decreases when the water content of the seed begins to decline (stage 3). In the dry seed, the enzyme disappears together with ascorbic acid. Ascorbate peroxidase activity is observed to be 10 times higher than that of catalase, suggesting that ascorbate peroxidase, rather than catalase, is utilized in scavenging the H(2)O(2) produced in the cell metabolism. There is no ascorbate oxidase in the seed of V. faba. V. faba seeds acquire the capability to synthesize ascorbic acid only after 30 days from anthesis, i.e. shortly before the onset of seed desiccation. This suggests that (a) the young seed is furnished with ascorbic acid by the parent plant throughout the period of intense growth, and (b) it is necessary for the seed to be endowed with the ascorbic acid biosynthetic system before entering the resting state so that the seed can promptly synthesize the ascorbic acid needed to reestablish metabolic activity when germination starts.