Week 4 Flashcards
How abundant is sulfur?
Sulfur is the 5th most abundant by mass on earth
What are the problems caused by atmospheric sulphur emission?
Sulphur Dioxide leads to acid rain and can cause extensive damage to vulnerable plants
What are the problems with removing sulphur from the atmosphere?
Eliminating sulphur from air pollution uncovered crop plant deficincies, particularly in oilseed rape and wheat
Which inorganic forms of sulphur have a -2 oxidation state?
Sulfides
S^2-, H2S, R-SH
Which inorganic forms of sulphur have a 0 charge?
Sulphurs
S^0, S8
Which inorganic form of sulphur have a +4 charge
Sulphur Dioxide
S02
Sulfites
SO3-
What inorganic form of sulphur have a +6 charge?
Sulphate
SO4^2-
Which forms of sulphur do plants uptake?
Primarily SO4^2- but to a lesser extent SO2 or H2S
Where does atmospheric sulphur come from?
Volcanic activity
Combustion of fossil fuels
Salt marshes
Ocean
What form is the atmospheric sulphur?
Mostly SO2 but also other chemicals like dimethl sulphide (DMS)
What is the main series of chemical reactions that take place with sulphur in the atmosphere?
H2S –> SO2 –> SO4^2-
Which form causes acid rain?
SO4^2 (sulphuric acid)
What happens to SO2 and H2S?
Assimilation by plants
What happens to the sulphur after the plant dies or is eaten?
The sulphur is released as R-SH through decomposition or in manure
What is the process in which R-SH is converted to SO4^2-?
Prokaryotic oxidation
What is the formulas for the conversion between R-SH to SO4^2-?
R-SH –> S –> SO4^2-
Can SO4^2- be converted to R-SH?
Yes, through the process of Prokaryotic reduction
How have SO2 emissions and SO4^2- precipitation changed?
They have been on a decline since the 1980s
Which amino acids contain sulphur?
Cysteine
Methionine
Which chemicals containing in sulphur are useful for plant defences?
Camalexin - induced by pathogens
Glucosinolates - anti-herbivores
What is the function of the compound glutathione?
Glutathione is an amino acid derivative involved in reactions
Which sulphur containing molecules that provide a flavor or odor?
Mercapto-p-menthan-3-one (blackcurrant)
Allicin (garlic flavour)
Allyl-isothiocyanate (horseradish flavour)
What uptakes sulfate?
Sulfate uptake occurs primarily through SULTR transporters
How many SULTR transporters do Arabidopsis have?
12 genes that code from SULTR that fall into 4 groups
Which 2 SULTR genes do most primary assimilation occurs?
Through SULTR 1;1 and SULTR 1;2 genes
What happens at a SULTR transporter?
A co-transporters between H+ and SO4^2-
What is the function of group 1 transporters in Arabidopsis?
High affinity sulphate transporters (root/shoot)
What is the function of group 2 transporters in Arabidopsis?
Low affinity sulphate transporters (root/shoot)
What is the function of group 3 transporters in Arabidopsis?
Root,shoot,very low affinity alone, but enhance affinity of Group 2
Also intracellular, sulfate into chloroplasts
What is the function of group 4 transporters in Arabidopsis?
Intracellular, sulfate to and from vacuoles
What SULTR group transports SO4^2- out of the vacuole?
Group 4
What is the SO4^2- concerntration in the vacuole, cytosol and chlorphyll?
6-75 mM vacuole
1-11 mM Cytosol
4-12 mM Chlorophyll
What are the key feature of SULTRs?
They are non-overlapping
Which SULTR group transports chemicals into the chloroplasts?
Group 3
Where do sulfate reduction occurs?
Only in plastids
What is the function of the S transporters?
They coordinate long distance transporters
What are the major sinks of sulphur?
Shoot apex - meristem, elongation zone, cell differentiation
Developing leaves
Roots tips - elongation zone, meristem
Generative organs (seeds)
What are the major sources of sulphur in plants?
Mature leaves
Mature roots
What happens to sulphur when it enters the plant?
Enters through leaf and gets distrubuted through the phloem to the parts of the leaf that require large amounts of sulphur where it is downloaded
What is the process converting sulphate converted into cysteine?
Sulphate –> APS (Adenosine 5’-phosphosulphate) –> Sulphite –> Sulphide –> Cysteine
What is an alternative pathway for APS?
APS –> PAPS (5’-Phosphoadenosine 3’-phosphosulphate) –> Then to sulfated compounds
What is an alternative product for sulphite?
Sulfoquinosovyl diacylglycerides
What is the pathway between the conversion between serine and cysteine?
Serine –> O-acetylserine –> cysteine
What is the pathway between cysteine and methionine?
Cycteine –> Cystathionine –> Methionine (reversable reaction) –> S-adenosyl methionine
What is the reaction to form Adenosine 5’-phosphate (APS)?
Sulphate + ATP using the enzyme ATP sulfurylase
What happens during the converison of APS to sulphite?
Using APS reductase APS is conveted to sulphite this releases AMP and converts 2 Glutathione (GSH) to Glutathione disulfide (GSSG)
What happens to the conversion between Sulphite and Sulphide?
Using Sulphite reductase FdxRed is oxidised to form FdxOx
Where does APS to Sulphite and Sulphite to Sulphide occur?
Exclusively in plastids