Hazardous Phytotoxic Nature of Reactive Oxygen Species in Agriculture

Abstract

During the course of normal metabolic activities in plants such as photosynthesis, respiration, and cellular metabolism, several reactive oxygen species are produced (hydroxyl peroxide and superoxide anion). The presence of these reactive oxygen species can cause plants to suffer from oxidative stress, meaning they suffer from an unhealthful environment. Because of the accumulation of lipids in the cell membrane, increased amounts of ROS are produced endogenously within the cell. This adversely affects the production of soluble proteins and sugars, as well as reduces the absorption of elements throughout the cell membrane. During stress, the whole production process of ROS is regulated by a signal protein that acts as a signal. These oxidative stresses are very common in agriculture crops because of some natural and anthropogenic factors such as the accumulation of heavy metal ions in the rhizosphere. From the rhizosphere, these ions get transported all over the plant and cause damage to the normal metabolic functioning of the plant under stress. In this instance, there are not enough energy molecules available for the plant to continue photosynthesis, which further results in inadequate yields. The plant experiences some physiological changes as a result of oxidative stress in order to scavenge the effects of oxidative stress. There are several issues we address in this chapter, including the mechanisms by which reactive oxygen species are introduced into crops, generation of free radicals, mitochondrial oxidative stress, signaling, and the phytotoxic nature of these in agriculture crops. The chapter also deals with the scavenging mechanisms that plants have evolved to protect themselves from reactive oxygen species damage at the enzymatic and molecular levels. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.