Sorting out the role of nitric oxide in cadmium-induced Arabidopsis thaliana programmed cell death

Abstract

As a vital cell-signaling molecule, nitric oxide (NO) has been reported to regulate toxic metal responses in plants. Our recent report has suggested that caspase-3-like protease activation was detected in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) after Cd2+ treatment. NO contributed caspase-3-like protease activation in Cd2+ induced Arabidopsis thaliana programmed cell death (PCD), which was mediated by MPK6. It was first shown that NO promotes Cd2+- induced Arabidopsis PCD by promoting MPK6-mediated caspase-3-like activation. Our study contributed to the understanding of NO signaling pathway in Cd2+-induced Arabidopsis thaliana PCD. Although several studies have revealed that NO regulates plant PCD, compared with the study of signaling pathways involved in animal cell apoptosis, the mechanism of NO function still remains elusive and the molecular mechanisms of MAPK are far from clear in Cd2+-induced PCD. By using the fluorescence techniques and the Arabidopsis seedlings as the reference model, the subsequent researches have been performed to obtain comprehensive understanding of Cd2+-induced plant PCD.