Protein S-nitrosylation: what's going on in plants?

Nitric oxide (NO) is now recognized as a key regulator of plant physiological processes. Understanding the mechanisms by which NO exerts its biological functions has been the subject of extensive research. Several components of the signaling pathways relaying NO effects in plants, including second messengers, protein kinases, phytohormones, and target genes, have been characterized. In addition, there is now compelling experimental evidence that NO partly operates through posttranslational modification of proteins, notably via S-nitrosylation and tyrosine nitration. Recently, proteome-wide scale analyses led to the identification of numerous protein candidates for S-nitrosylation in plants. Subsequent biochemical and in silico structural studies revealed certain mechanisms through which S-nitrosylation impacts their functions. Furthermore, first insights into the physiological relevance of S-nitrosylation, particularly in controlling plant immune responses, have been recently reported. Collectively, these discoveries greatly extend our knowledge of NO functions and of the molecular processes inherent to signal transduction in plants.