Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nitric oxide in biological systems

  • Invited Minireview
  • Published:
Plant Growth Regulation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Against a background of a general description of the action of the free radical gas nitric oxide (NO), some of its close derivatives such as peroxynitrite, and of its formative enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in mammals, possible plant analogies are discussed. Resembling endogenous effects in mammals which may be either promotory or inhibitory, a possible physiological if not anatomical parallel pertains to NO's vasodilatory effects. The latter in mammals inter alia are encountered in extensible coronary-, blood vessel lining-, endotheliar-, pulmonary-and penile tissue while in plants such effects may be on cell wall matrix components which constrain potential turgor-promoted cell expansion. The same final outcome in both plants and mammals may be enhancement of periplasmic membrane fluidity. As with certain aspects of NO action in mammals, the nature of the response may be concentration-dependent — lower ones, promotory — higher, inhibitory. As deduced from trials on pea foliage, an apparent linkage of NO and ethylene metabolism is specific to plants. Thus, low concentrations of either endogenously-produced or exogenously-applied NO in the 10−6 M range exert significant growth-promoting and ethylene-inhibiting effects which are reversed by higher NO concentrations or by equimolar applications of the NOS inhibitor-NG-methyl-L-arginine or of NO releasing compounds. An overview is given of other modes of NO action in biological systems and of basic issues of NO and NOS function in plant growth regulation which await elucidation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

ACC:

1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid

N-ARG:

NG-methyl-L-arginine

NO:

nitric oxide

NOS:

nitric oxide synthase

NOX :

noxious nitrogen

PBN:

N-tert-butyl-α-phenylnitrone

Sin-1:

3-morpholinosydnonimine

SNAP:

S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine

References

  1. Andersson KE and Wagner Y (1995) Physiology of penile erection. Physiol Rev 75: 91–236

    Google Scholar 

  2. Betz C, Tuomainen J, Kangasjarvi J, Ernst D, Yin Z, Langebartels C and Sandermann H (1996) Ozone activation of ethylene biosynthesis in tomato. In: Lichtenthaler HK (ed) Vegetation Stress, Proc Sym Vegetation Stress, Munich (in press)

  3. Chamulitrat W, Jordan SJ, Mason RP, Saito K and Culter RG (1993) Nitric oxide formation during light-induced decomposition of phenyl-N-tert butylnitrone. J Biol Chem 268: 11520–11527

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Elzenga JTM and vanVolkenburg E (1994) Characterization of ion channels in the plasma membrane of epidermal cells of expanding pea (Pisum sativum) leaves. Membr Biol 137: 227–235

    Google Scholar 

  5. Feldman PL, Griffith OW and Stuehr DJ (1993) The surprising life of nitric oxide. Chem Eng News 71: 26–38

    Google Scholar 

  6. Fin C, deCunha C, Bromberg C, Smitz PK, Biachin A, Medina JH and Izquierdo I (1995) Experiments suggesting a role for nitric oxide in the hippocampus in memory processes. Neurobiol Learn Memory 63: 113–115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Fukuhori M, Ichimori K, Ishida H, Nakagawa H and Okino H (1995) Nitric oxide reversibly suppresses xanthine oxidase activity. Free Rad Res 21: 203–212

    Google Scholar 

  8. Hery PJ, Horowitz JD and Louis WJ (1989) Nitroglycerin-induced tolerance affects multiple sites in the organic nitrate bioconversion cascade. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 248: 762–768

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Hibbs JB, Tumtor RR, Vavrin Z and Rachlin EM (1988) NO is a highly reactive endogenous chemical produced by activated macrophages and serves as a mediator for expressing activity. Biochem. Biophys Res Comm 157: 87–94

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Hillman JR, Glidewell SM and Deighton N (1994) The senescence syndrome in plants: an overview of phytogerontology. In: Crawford RMM, Hendry GAF and Goodman BA (eds) Oxygen and Oxy Radicals in Chemistry and Biology, pp 447–458. Proc Roy Soc Edinbu 102B

  11. Howard CJ (1980) Stratospheric chemistry and the ozone problem. In: Rodgers M and Powers E (eds) Oxygen and Oxy Radicals in Chemistry and Biology, pp 535–589. Academic Press

  12. Konorev EA, Tarpey MM, Joseph J, Bakner JE and Kalyanaraman B (1995) Nitronyl oxides as probes to study the mechanism of vasodilatory action. Free Rad Biol Med 18: 169–177

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Koprowski H, Zheng YM, Heber-Katz E, Frazer N, Rorke L, Fu ZF, Hanlon C and Dietzschold B (1993) in vivo expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in experimentally induced neurological diseases. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 90: 3024–3027

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Leshem YY (1988) Plant senescence processes and free radicals. Free Rad Biol and Med 5: 39–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Leshem YY and Haramaty E (1996) The characterization and contrasting effects of the nitric oxide free radical in vegetative stress and senescence of Pisum sativum foliage. In: Lichtenthaler HK (ed) Vegetation Stress, Proc Sym Vegetation Stress, Munich, 1995. J Plant Phys (in press)

  16. Madison DV (1993) Pass the nitric oxide. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 90: 4329–4331

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. McKersie B and Leshem YY (1994) Stress and stress coping in cultivated plants, pp 220–221. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers

    Google Scholar 

  18. Mitsuhata H, Saitoh J, Takeuchi H, Hariguchi Y and Shimizu R (1994) Production of nitric oxide in anaphylaxis in rabbits. Shock 2: 381–384

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Moneada S, Palmer RMJ and Higgs FA (1991) Nitric oxide: physiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology. Pharmacol Rev 43: 109–142

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Neighbour EA, Pearson M and Mehlhorn H (1990) Purafil infiltration prevents the development of ozone induced frost injury: a potential role for nitric oxide. Atmos Environ 24A: 711–715

    Google Scholar 

  21. Oleson J, Lykke L and Thompson-Iversen T (1994) Nitric oxide is a key molecule in migraine and other vascular headaches. Trend Pharmacol Sci 15: 149–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Peunova N and Enikolopov (1995) Nitric oxide triggers a switch to growth arrest during differentiation of neuronal cells. Nature 375: 68–73

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Prince RC and Gunson DE (1993) Rising interest in nitric oxide synthase. Trend Biol Sci 18: 35–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Pryor WA and Squadrito GL (1995) The chemistry of peroxynitrite: a product from the reaction of nitric oxide with superoxide. Am J Physiol 268: L699-L722

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Radi R, Beckman JS, Bash KM and Freeman RA (1991) Peroxylnitrite induced membrane lipid peroxidation: cytotoxic potential of superoxide and nitric oxide. Arch Biochem Biophys 228: 481–487

    Google Scholar 

  26. Rodrigo J, Springall DR, Uttenthal O, Bentura ML, Abadia-Molina F, Riveros-Moreno V, Martinez-Murillo R, Polak JM and Moncada S (1994) Location of nitric oxide synthase in the adult rat brain. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B 345: 175–221

    Google Scholar 

  27. Schumann E and Madison DV (1994) Nitric oxide and synaptic function. Ann Rev Neurosci 17: 158–183

    Google Scholar 

  28. Snyder SH (1992) Nitric oxide: first in a new class of neurotransmitters. Science 257: 494–496

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Snyder SH and Bredt A (1992) The biological role of nitric oxide. Scien Amer 216: 27–35

    Google Scholar 

  30. vanSpanning RJM, Anthonius PN, deBoer WNM, Reijnders S, Westerhoff HV, Stouthamer AH and van derOost J (1995) Nitric acid and nitric oxide reduction in Paracoccus denitrifrians. FEBS Lett 360: 151–154

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Yang SF, Dong JG, Fernandez-Maculet JC and Olson DC (1993) Apple ACC oxidase: purification and characterization of the enzyme and cloning of its cDNA. In: Peche JC, Laché A and Balagué C (eds) Cellular and Molecular Aspects of the Plant Hormone Ethylene, pp 59–64. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, 52900, Ramat Gan, Israel

    Ya'acov Y. Leshem

Authors
  1. Ya'acov Y. Leshem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Leshem, Y.Y. Nitric oxide in biological systems. Plant Growth Regul 18, 155–159 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024375

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00024375

Key words

Search

Navigation