Genes and Their Functions Involved in Plant Response to Ozone and Other Air Pollutants

Abstract

Air pollutants have various effects on plants. Especially, ozone is highly toxic and causes damage, such as growth inhibition and foliar cell death, depending on its concentration, plant species and various environmental factors. Molecular genetic studies carried out by the author's group as well as other groups have elucidated many genes involved in the plant response to ozone. Some of them are related to stomatal regulation, while others are related to the production and scavenging of active oxygen species and various signaling substances. These responses to ozone resemble those to other stress factors such as pathogens, high/low temperature and ultraviolet irradiation, suggesting that a programmed cell death may be induced by ozone as well as other stress factors. The accelerative advancement of genome analyses and various analytical methods will provide us with many pieces of information on stress-related genes and it would be crucial to select the most useful ones.