title: Effects of nitrogen dioxide and its acid mist on reactive oxygen species production and antioxidant enzyme activity in Arabidopsis plants.
abstract: Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is one of the most common and harmful air pollutants. To analyze the response of plants to NO2 stress, we investigated the morphological change, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and antioxidant enzyme activity in Arabidopsis thaliana (Col-0) exposed to 1.7, 4, 8.5, and 18.8 mg/m(3) NO2. The results indicate that NO2 exposure affected plant growth and chlorophyll (Chl) content, and increased oxygen free radical (O2(-)) production rate in Arabidopsis shoots. Furthermore, NO2 elevated the levels of lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation, accompanied by the induction of antioxidant enzyme activities and change of ascorbate (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) contents. Following this, we mimicked nitric acid mist under experimental conditions, and confirmed the antioxidant mechanism of the plant to the stress. Our results imply that NO2 and its acid mist caused pollution risk to plant systems. During the process, increased ROS acted as a signal to induce a defense response, and antioxidant status played an important role in plant protection against NO2/nitric acid mist-caused oxidative damage.
authors.affiliation: College of Environment and Resource, Research Center of Environment and Health, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China.
authors.forename: Fen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: College of Environment and Resource, Research Center of Environment and Health, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China. Electronic address: liguangke@sxu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Guangke
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Environment and Resource, Research Center of Environment and Health, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China. Electronic address: sangnan@sxu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sang
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D017942:Nitric Acid / Q000633:toxicity*; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide / Q000633:toxicity*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D010940:Plant Proteins; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D017942:Nitric Acid; D009585:Nitrogen Dioxide
keywords: Antioxidant system; Arabidopsis thaliana; Nitric acid mist; Nitrogen dioxide; Reactive oxygen species