Expression regulation of plant ascorbate peroxidase and its tolerance to abiotic stresses

Abstract

Ascorbate peroxidase (APX), a type I heme peroxidase, catalyzes oxidation of ascorbic acid. It possesses a high degree of specificity to ascorbic acid. APX gene cluster consists of four sub-clusters: the gene clusters of cytosol, chloroplast, mitochondria, and peroxidase. As a key component of hydrogen peroxide detoxification system, the ascorbate-glutathione cycle, APX plays a vital role in the metabolism of H2O2 of plant cells. Studies showed that APX is one of the most important enzymes, which modulate the cellular H2O2 level in redox signaling system. The expression mechanisms of APX isoenzymes are quite complex. Briefly, cytosolic APX is regulated by a variety of signals; two chloroplastic APX isoenzymes are tissue-dependently regulated by alternative splicing. Generated APXs could regulate redox signaling in cells, which further boosts plants tolerance to abiotic stresses. This review focuses on recent advances concerning catalytic prop-erties, physiological function, and gene expressing regulation and abio-stress responding mechanism of APX.