Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Detection of Histone Modifications in Plant Leaves
Published on: September 23, 2011
Effect of glutathione on phytochelatin synthesis in tomato cells
M L Mendum1, S C Gupta, P B Goldsbrough
1Department of Horticulture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907.
Abstract:
Growth of cell suspension cultures of tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv VFNT-Cherry, in the presence of cadmium is inhibited by buthionine sulfoximine, an inhibitor of glutathione synthesis. Cell growth and phytochelatin synthesis are restored to cells treated with buthionine sulfoximine by the addition of glutathione to the medium. Glutathione stimulates the accumulation of phytochelatins in cadmium treated cells, indicating that availability of glutathione can limit synthesis of these peptides. Exogenous glutathione causes a disproportionate increase in the level of smaller phytochelatins, notably [gamma-Glu-Cys](2)-Gly. In the presence of buthionine sulfoximine and glutathione, phytochelatins that are produced upon exposure to cadmium incorporate little [(35)S]cysteine, indicating that these peptides are probably not synthesized by sequential addition of cysteine and glutamate to glutathione.
Related Concept Videos
Transgenic Plants
The first-ever transgenic plant was a tobacco plant developed in 1983 that showed resistance against the tobacco mosaic virus. Since then, many transgenic plants have been developed and commercialized for improving the agricultural, ornamental, and horticultural value of a crop plant. Transgenic...
Phase II Reactions: Glutathione Conjugation and Mercapturic Acid Formation
Several distinctive characteristics distinguish glutathione conjugation from other phase II...
Protein Transport to the Inner Chloroplast Membrane
Protein Transport to the Stroma
Protein complexes called the translocon of the outer chloroplast membrane or TOC complex, and the translocon of the inner chloroplast membrane or TIC complex mediate the...

