OXIDATIVE STRESS IN PLANTS

Oxidative stress, defined as a shift of the balance between prooxidati ve and antioxidative reactions in favor of the former seems to be a co mmon denominator of the action of various agents on living organisms. This review briefly presents the sources of reactive oxygen species an d means of antioxidative defense in plants, means of assessment of oxi dative stress and exemplary data on the induction of oxidative stress by various environmental and biological factors such as hyperoxia, lig ht, drought, high salinity, cold, metal ions, pollutants, xenobiotics, toxins, reoxygenation after anoxia, experimental manipulations, patho gen infection and aging of plant organs.