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Updated: May 15, 2026
06:10
Assessment of Cellular Oxidation using a Subcellular Compartment-Specific Redox-Sensitive Green Fluorescent Protein
Published on: June 18, 2020
Converting low dose radiation to redox signaling
Jelena Bogdanović Pristov1, Mihajlo Spasić2, Ivan Spasojević1
1Life Sciences Department; Institute for Multidisciplinary Research; University of Belgrade; Belgrade, Serbia.
Plant Signaling & Behavior
|January 10, 2013
Summary
Low dose radiation triggers constructive plant changes. Polygalacturonic acid converts radiation
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Radiation biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- High-dose radiation is damaging, but low-dose radiation (UV, gamma) can induce beneficial changes in plants.
- The precise mechanisms plants use to sense and respond to low-dose radiation remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of polygalacturonic acid in mediating plant responses to low-dose radiation.
- To propose a mechanism for radiation signal conversion in plants.
Main Methods:
- Investigated the chemical conversion of radiation byproducts.
- Proposed a signaling pathway involving polygalacturonic acid, superoxide, and hydrogen peroxide.
Main Results:
- Polygalacturonic acid converts hydroxyl radicals (a reactive radiation product) into superoxide.
- Superoxide can be further converted to hydrogen peroxide, a known signaling molecule.
- This suggests polygalacturonic acid acts as a radiation-signaling convertor.
Conclusions:
- Polygalacturonic acid plays a key role in converting radiation signals in plants.
- The proposed radiation-sensing mechanism may also apply to mammalian cells.
- Further research is needed to fully elucidate these signaling pathways.
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