Unravelling the importance of Aldehyde Dehydrogenases in the plant redox biology

活性氧（ROS）过氧化氢（H2O2）、超氧自由基阴离子（O2-）和羟基自由基（HO）是激活基因表达并控制生长发育几个方面的小分子。ROS有两种作用模式：氧化应激和氧化还原生物学。氧化应激是ROS生成和解毒系统失衡的结果，最终导致细胞死亡。氧化还原生物学是指活性氧作为信号分子并控制重要的细胞功能。环境变化高度影响ROS在氧化应激和氧化还原生物学之间的作用模式。与氧化应激相比，活性氧信号的分子机制仍然知之甚少，特别是在植物中。我的研究将探讨蛋白质羰基化是介导植物中ROS信号传导和功能的生物学相关翻译后修饰的假设。本研究的长期目标是确定和表征控制植物生长和生物量的ROS信号机制。为了实现这一目标，我本研究的具体目标是i)验证植物中蛋白质羰基化对ROS信号传导的假设，ii)研究细胞内铁对蛋白质羰基化和ROS信号传导的影响，iii)研究应激反应性醛脱氢酶对蛋白质羰基化的影响。本研究的结果将包括植物中蛋白质羰基化调节的生物学功能以及植物如何控制羰基化（一种非酶翻译后修饰）以达到信号目的。基于这些结果，将有可能研究ROS如何通过蛋白质羰基化控制植物的生长和发育。提出的研究计划将提供一个新的理解环境信号是如何在细胞和分子水平上精确地传达给植物的。这些信息可以帮助制定新的生物技术解决方案，以防止或扭转环境变化（干旱、高盐度、微生物感染等）对作物的有害影响。

The reactive oxygen species (ROS) hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), superoxide radical anion (O2-), and hydroxyl radical (HO) are small molecules that activate gene expression and control several aspects of growth and development. Two modes of action can be distinguished for ROS: oxidative stress and redox biology. Oxidative stress results from the imbalance between the ROS production and detoxification systems, and ultimately leads to cell death. Redox biology is when ROS act as signalling molecules and control vital cellular functions. Environmental changes highly influence the mode of action of ROS between oxidative stress and redox biology. Compared to the oxidative stress, the molecular mechanisms of ROS signalling are still poorly understood, particularly in plants. My research will investigate the hypothesis that protein carbonylation is a biologically relevant posttranslational modification mediating ROS signalling and functions in plants. The long-term goal of this research is to identify and characterise ROS signalling mechanisms controlling the plant growth and biomass. To achieve this goal, my specific objectives for this research are i) to test the hypothesis of ROS signalling by protein carbonylation in plants, ii) to investigate the influence of intracellular iron on protein carbonylation and ROS signalling, and iii) to examine the influence of stress-responsive Aldehyde Dehydrogenases on protein carbonylation. The outcomes of this research will include information about the biological functions regulated by protein carbonylation in plants and how plants control carbonylation, a non-enzymatic post-translational modification, for signalling purpose. Based on these results, it will then be possible to study how ROS control plant growth and development through protein carbonylation. The proposed research program will provide a novel understanding of how environmental cues are precisely communicated to plants at cellular and molecular levels. This information can help formulate new biotechnological solutions to prevent or reverse detrimental effects of environmental changes (drought, high salinity, microbial infection, etc.) on the crops.