Reactive oxygen species (ROS): plant perspectives on oxidative signalling and biotic stress response

In plants, the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a predictable outcome of an aerobic lifestyle. In general, ROS is an umbrella term that includes both oxygen radicals and non-radical species. These are formed continuously in different cellular compartments as a normal byproduct of various metabolic processes. ROS are known to perform essential roles in controlling various biological events in plants, such as growth and development, stress tolerance, programmed cell death (PCD), etc. In controlled concentrations, ROS are signalling molecules associated with stimulating variable defence-related pathways in stressed plants. Under stressed conditions, ROS function as secondary messengers which…