Cysteines under ROS attack in plants: a proteomics view

Plants generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) as part of their metabolism and in response to various external stress factors, potentially causing significant damage to biomolecules and cell structures. During the course of evolution, plants have adapted to ROS toxicity, and use ROS as signalling messengers that activate defence responses. Cysteine (Cys) residues in proteins are one of the most sensitive targets for ROS-mediated post-translational modifications, and they have become key residues for ROS signalling studies. The reactivity of Cys residues towards ROS, and their ability to react to different oxidation states, allow them to appear at the crossroads of highly dynamic oxidative events. As such, a redox-active cysteine can be present as S-glutathionylated (-SSG), disulfide bonded (S-S), sulfenylated (-SOH), sulfinylated…