Nitric oxide interferes with plant photo‐oxidative stress by detoxifying reactive oxygen species

Abstract Oxidative stress within chloroplasts is originated due to light‐dependent O2 reduction. This may be exacerbated by bipyridinium herbicides, which act at photosystem I as artificial electron acceptors. Their oxidation produces a superoxide anion that further dismutates to H2O2 and then, by the Fenton reaction, H2O2 may be reduced to the hydroxyl radical (OH•). Reactive oxygen species (ROS), when produced in high amounts, provoke severe damage to the plant cell. Herein it is reported that two nitric oxide (NO) donors, sodium nitroprusside (100 µm) and S‐nitroso‐N‐acetylpenicillamine (200 µm), greatly reduced lipid peroxidation and the protein loss caused by the application of a high dose of the bipyridinium herbicide diquat to potato leaf pieces or isolated chloroplasts. Nitric oxide donors also protected the RNA against oxidative damage. Photo‐oxidative toxicity was correlated with an increase in photosynthetic electron transport and ROS production, but the rate of electron transport was restored and the ROS free amount was markedly reduced in the presence of NO. The specific activity of superoxide dismutase was not affected by diquat or NO donors, whereas just a small increase in catalase activity was observed after 24 h of treatment. These results provide strong evidence that NO is a potent antioxidant in plants and that its action may, at least in part, be explained by its ability to directly scavenge ROS.