The roles of protein S-nitrosylation in regulating the growth and development of plants: A review

The free radical nitric oxide (NO) is an important redox-related signaling molecule modulating wide range of biological processes in all living plants. The transfer of NO bioactivity could be executed chiefly through a prototypic, redox-based post-translational modification, S-nitrosylation that covalently adds NO moiety to a reactive cysteine thiol of a target protein to form an S-nitrosothiol. Protein S-nitrosylation is recently emerged as an evolutionarily conserved and important mechanism regulating multiple aspects of plant growth and development. Here, we review the recent progress of S-nitrosylated proteins in the modulation of various plant development processes, including seed germination and aging, root development, seedling growth, flowering and fruit ripening and postharvest fruit quality. More importantly, the detailed function mechanism of proteins Snitrosylation and key challenges in this field are also highlighted.