Abstract
Homocysteine (Hcy) is a sulfur-containing non-proteinogenic amino acid, which arises from redox-sensitive methionine metabolism. In plants, Hcy synthesis involves both cystathionine β-lyase and S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase activities. Thus, Hcy itself is crucial for de novo methionine synthesis and S-adenosylmethionine recycling, influencing the formation of ethylene, polyamines, and nicotianamine. Research on mammalian cells has shown biotoxicity of this amino acid, as Hcy accumulation triggers oxidative stress and the associated lipid peroxidation process. In addition, the presence of highly reactive groups induces Hcy and Hcy derivatives to modify proteins by changing their structure and function. Currently, Hcy is recognized as a critical, independent hallmark of many degenerative metabolic diseases. Research results indicate that an enhanced Hcy level is also toxic to yeast and bacteria cells. In contrast, in the case of plants the metabolic status of Hcy remains poorly examined and understood. However, the presence of the toxic Hcy metabolites and Hcy over-accumulation during the development of an infectious disease seem to suggest harmful effects of this amino acid also in plant cells. The review highlights potential implications of Hcy metabolism in plant physiological disorders caused by environmental stresses. Moreover, recent research advances emphasize that recognizing the Hcy mode of action in various plant systems facilitates verification of the potential status of Hcy metabolites as bioindicators of metabolism disorders and thus may constitute an element of broadly understood biomonitoring.
Introduction
Homocysteine (Hcy) was first synthesized by Butz and de Vigneaud in 1932 as homocystine (disulfide) by chemical demethylation of methionine (Met) with sulfuric acid. Then, three years later Hcy was obtained by reduction of homocystine with metallic sodium-ammonia (Riegel and de Vigneaud, 1935). Although Hcy is a naturally occurring intermediate in the metabolism of Met and cysteine (Cys), its excessive production might be harmful to various human and animal cells (Roe et al., 2002; Tuite et al., 2005; ; Kumar et al., 2006; Zimny et al., 2006; Sikora and Jakubowski, 2009). Higher concentrations of Hcy were shown to affect growth inhibition or reduce cell viability in Escherichia coli cultures and yeast cells (Tuite et al., 2005; Sikora and Jakubowski, 2009). In animal cells an excessive level of Hcy is associated with a risk of various disorders, such as neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, diabetic retinopathy, embryo developmental anomalies, certain neoplasms, and osteoporosis (; Smith and Refsum, 2021). Recent years have shown a dramatic increase in research aimed at providing better understanding of this exciting amino acid in animal organisms. However, still little is known concerning the role of Hcy in plant systems, in which it is only perceived as an intermediate product of Met biosynthesis and a by-product of S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) metabolism.
Mechanisms of Hcy toxicity in living cells
The harmful effects are exerted not only by Hcy, but also by the more reactive Hcy-related metabolites emerging due to elevated levels of this amino acid in the cellular environment (Škovierová et al., 2016). As a thiol Hcy can autoxidize, while in the presence of transition metals it promotes reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation (). In vitro, Hcy was proven to act as a pro-oxidant through hydrogen peroxide production during metal-catalyzed oxidation (Perna et al., 2003a). Thus, an excess of Hcy may trigger uncontrolled oxidation product formation in the cellular environment, resulting in oxidative stress (Perna et al., 2003b). Wu et al. (2019) summarized that Hcy can also induce ROS production by NADPH oxidases and endothelial nitric oxide synthase uncoupling. Finally, Hcy-induced oxidative stress may arise from targeting enzymatic antioxidants including glutathione peroxidase and protein disulfide isomerase ().
proved that the pathophysiological mode of action of Hcy is closely related to the “Hcy-thiolactone hypothesis”. The Hcy metabolite, synthesized by methionyl-tRNA synthetase in an error-editing reaction, is a cyclic thioester with a unique repertoire of chemical reactions (; ). As demonstrated in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae model yeast, both cytoplasmic and mitochondrial methionyl-tRNA synthetases are engaged in the biosynthesis of the Hcy metabolite (Senger et al., 2001). The formation of Hcy-thiolactone requires ATP and thus causes nonproductive consumption of cellular energy. Once formed, Hcy-thiolactone is relatively stable, as its half-life has been estimated to be approximately 25 h under physiological pH (pH 7.4) and temperature (36°C) ().
The total production of Hcy-thiolactone depends on the concentration of free Hcy and the Met-Hcy ratio. Notably, the unique Hcy derivative can quickly diffuse through cellular membranes owing to its amino group’s relatively low pKa value (~ 7.2) (; ). Thus, Hcy-thiolactone was also detected in extracellular media (). Hcy-thiolactone is much more toxic than Hcy and can trigger apoptosis even at low concentrations (). In addition, it may have an inhibitory effect on Na+/K+-ATP-ase, altering the membrane potential with a deleterious effect on cells (Rasić-Marković et al., 2009).
The process of Hcy or Hcy-thiolactone incorporation into proteins is known as homocysteinylation. It can involve S-homocysteinylation (S-Hcy-protein) or N-homocysteinylation (N-Hcy-protein). As Hcy-thiolactone can only arise from Hcy, N-homocysteinylation constitutes a unique post-translational protein modification for Hcy (). N-homocysteinylation involves the modification of protein lysine residues and can alter or impair the protein structure and function, resulting in protein damage. The phenomenon of protein N-homocysteinylation is irreversible, while the accumulation of N-Hcy-proteins could promote proinflammatory, prothrombotic, and proatherogenic properties, contributing to various disorders associated with hyperhomocysteinemia in humans (). In addition, post-translational protein modification can influence the epigenetic regulation of gene expression, preventing histone lysine methylation and acetylation (Wada et al., 2018). It is important to note that N-homocysteinylation may also influence the susceptibility of a protein to proteolysis, as confirmed in the case of N-Hcy-albumin (). Experimental evidence shows that N-Hcy-protein formation is a phenomenon shared by various multicellular organisms, including plants (). In the case of S-homocysteinylation Hcy is linked via a disulfide bond to a free protein sulfhydryl residue. The post-translational modification may change the function of proteins via the inactivation of potentially active free thiol groups and shifting the redox potential of biomolecules (). Compared to N-homocysteinylation mediated via Hcy-thiolactone, protein S-homocysteinylation is reversible and is not specific to Hcy, as other low-molecular-weight thiols may form disulfide bonds with protein sulphydryl residues ().
In the presence of the signaling molecule, nitric oxide (NO), Hcy can undergo S-nitrosation to S-nitroso-Hcy. As underlined by Morakinyo et al. (2010), the NO-dependent modification of the thiol group in Hcy can constitute a prevention mechanism against the metabolic conversion of Hcy to more toxic Hcy-thiolactone. In plants, NO-dependent post-translational modifications of SAHH and other crucial components of the S-adenosylmethionine cycle can also affect the Hcy level and consequently, the DNA methylation status (Lindermayr et al., 2005; ; Lozano-Juste et al., 2011; Puyaubert et al., 2014; ).
Hcy formation in plants
As an immediate methionine precursor, Hcy is synthesized in plant cells via two pathways (Figure 1). One of them involves the plastid/chloroplast and includes the route from sulfate via cysteine and cystathionine (CysT) formation; however, next to cysteine also O-phosphohomoserine can be metabolized to CysT by CysT γ-synthase. Finally, b-cleavage of CysT to Hcy is catalyzed by cystathionine β-lyase (CBL) (Ravanel et al., 1998; ; Ravanel et al., 2004). The other cytosol route involves Hcy formation as a by-product of the methylation reaction within plant cells (). In this respect, S-adenosylhomocysteine (AdoHcy) undergoes conversion into Hcy in a reaction catalyzed by S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase (SAHH) (Ravanel et al., 2004).
Figure 1
Bioinformatics analyses allow us to supplement the experimental data and make new insights into the phylogenetic relationships and genomic/proteomic organization of genes involved in Hcy biosynthesis in plants. For the first time, we showed the CBL and SAHH genes from various plant species in terms of their phylogenetic relationships, protein domains and gene structure (exon/intron organization). We selected the model plants (), including five monocots and ten dicots, and their sequences were obtained from PLAZA 5.0 and Phytozome databases (https://bioinformatics.psb.ugent.be/plaza/ and https://phytozome-next.jgi.doe.gov/, respectively, accessed on 22.10.2022). A total of 17 CBL and 31 SAHH genes were found to be distributed in 15 plant species (Figure 2). In the dicots, G. max had two CBL genes, while in the monocots O. sativa had two genes, while the other plants had only one CBL gene. For the SAHH, most of the dicots had 2-3 genes, except for L. japonicas, P. persica and S. tuberosum, which had one gene each. Notably, E. grandis contained seven SAHH members. In monocots, only H. vulgare had two SAHHs, while the rest of the analyzed plants contained one gene. Thus, gene duplication appears to have had a prominent role in the expansion of the SAHH family in dicot plants. Gene duplication, expansion, and eventual diversification are characteristics of the evolutionary process. The duplication of the SAHH genes might have contributed to evolving novel functions, such as growth and development, disease resistance, and stress tolerance (Panchy et al., 2016).
Figure 2
The phylogenetic analysis divided the plant CBLs (Figure 2A) and SAHHs (Figure 2B) into taxonomic groups, i.e. monocots and dicots. This is consistent with the divergent history of plant evolution (
The gene structure analysis revealed that the intron/exon arrangements in both monocots and dicots are similar (Figure 2). The size of the CBL genes ranged from 3 (A. thaliana) to 12 kbp (L. japonicas) in all the plants analyzed, with 12 introns in dicots and 10-11 introns in monocots. The SAHH gene size ranged from 1.5 (E. grandis) to 4.5 kbp (S. lycopersicum), with only one intron in dicots and mostly two introns in monocots. The CBLs of V. vinifera and L. japonicas had the large size of introns. This might be due to the abundance of repetitive/transposable elements (TEs) in their genomes, despite having genome sizes of only about 500 Mb (
Potentially present in both cytosol and chloroplast, methionine synthase (MS) methylates Hcy to methionine using a methyl group donor, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (
It was documented that an elevated level of Hcy is accompanied by decreased SAHH activity and over-accumulation of AdoHcy, which competitively inhibits AdoMet-dependent transmethylation, including DNA and histone methylation (Tehlivets et al., 2013). Thus, Hcy synthesis and AdoHcy removal by SAHH must be precisely and efficiently regulated. In Arabidopsis, SAHH1 and SAHH2 isoforms have been identified and the null mutation of SAHH1 results in embryonic lethality (Rocha et al., 2005). Moreover, an impaired SAHH1 function, including the knock-down sahh1 and homology-induced gene silencing 1 (hog1), resulted in delayed germination, growth, and morphological disorders (Rocha et al., 2005; Wu et al., 2009), indicating the significance of AdoHcy removal in plant cells. As it was stated by
Although the trans-sulfuration reactions of Hcy to Cys are present in mammalian and fungal systems, the mechanism was not described in plants (
Hcy mode of action in plants
Although little attention has been paid to the research on the role of Hcy in plants, other non-proteinogenic amino acids such as ornithine, citrulline, arginosuccinate, homoserine, and cystathionine are well-recognized intermediates of plant metabolism (Jander et al., 2020). In plants, the non-proteinogenic amino acids show a broad range of roles, including anti-herbivory, antimicrobial, and allelochemical activity. Moreover, they are engaged in signaling, nitrogen storage, and general plant response to stresses (
It is well established that Hcy is crucial for de novo methionine synthesis and AdoMet recycling, which constitutes a precursor of ethylene, polyamines, and nicotianamine. At the same time, it also controls DNA and histone methylation (Watanabe et al., 2021). Moreover, Hcy can manage in vivo serine biosynthesis via regulation of the 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PGDH) activity. Okamura and Hirai (2017) showed that Arabidopsis AtPGDH1 and AtPGDH3 were activated under in vitro conditions by Hcy in a cooperative manner. The observed positive and tight regulation of AtPGDH1 and AtPGDH3 by Hcy may contribute to the balance between sulfur assimilation and tryptophan biosynthesis. Moreover, Hcy-mediated activation of the serine biosynthesis implicates the amino acid as a signaling molecule that enhances AdoMet production (Okamura and Hirai, 2017). Thus, the regulatory role of Hcy in plant cells should be assumed as an important intermediate in primary metabolism.
Besides the non-toxic effects of Hcy in plants,
Hcy-thiolactone was shown to provoke features of apoptosis in various types of cells such as placental trophoblasts, human endothelial and promyeloid HL-60 cells (Mercié et al., 2000;
Hcy metabolism as a potential fingerprint of plant physiological disorders
Under normal conditions, the mean concentration of total Hcy (including disulfide-bound forms) in human plasma is ∼10 μmol/L. Thus, an elevated Hcy level has been related to inflammation processes and metabolism dysregulation leading to numerous cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease states. The total pool of Hcy in lupine seedling hypocotyls was calculated at 4.3 μM (
More recently, Watanabe et al. (2021) underlined that Hcy metabolism in plants can be altered under unfavorable environmental conditions. However, technical difficulties in its measurement contribute to a small number of data illustrating Hcy changes in plant cells. The Hcy accumulation and its localization were first documented in potato leaves inoculated with the causative agent of late blight using the immunohistochemical method (
The AdoMet/AdoHcy ratio may also precisely reflect the plant’s physiological state and alterations in this proportion modify developmental and stress responses (Watanabe et al., 2021). Significantly, this quantitative relation may differ depending on external conditions. Experimentally established levels for AdoMet and AdoHcy in Arabidopsis were ∼15 and ∼0.5 pmol/mg fresh weight, respectively (
Conclusions
Our understanding of the Hcy metabolism and Hcy impact on animal and human pathophysiology has significantly advanced during the last decades. The current state of knowledge lets us see that Hcy is not only the immediate precursor of methionine, but can also provide an informative role on the plant physiological state. Recognizing Hcy as a standard marker of plant metabolic disorders caused by various stresses still seems rather far-fetched, so intensive research on the overall identification of Hcy derivatives and their potential biotoxic features should be a priority in future studies.
Statements
Author contributions
JF-W, MA-J and ES-N wrote the manuscript. UT performed bioinformatic analysis and results interpretation. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Funding
This work was supported by the Polish National Science Centre; project NCN No. 2017/25/B/NZ9/00905. The publication was co-financed within the framework of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s program: “Regional Initiative Excellence” in the years 2019– 2022 (No. 005/RID/2018/19).
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
References
1
AlegreS.PascualJ.TrottaA.AngeleriM.RahikainenM.BroscheM.et al. (2020). Evolutionary conservation and post-translational control of s-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase in land plants. PloS One15, e0227466. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227466
2
Arasimowicz-JelonekM.Floryszak-WieczorekJ.GzylJ.Chmielowska-BąkJ. (2013). Homocysteine over-accumulation as the effect of potato leaves exposure to biotic stress. Plant Physiol. Biochem.63, 177–184. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2012.11.025
3
Arasimowicz-JelonekM.Floryszak-WieczorekJ.IzbiańskaK.GzylJ.JelonekT. (2016). Implication of peroxynitrite in defence responses of potato to Phytophthora infestans. Plant Pathol.65, 754–766. doi: 10.1111/ppa.12471
4
AtazadeganM. A.BagherniyaM.AskariG.TasbandiA.SahebkarA. (2021). The effects of medicinal plants and bioactive natural compounds on homocysteine. Molecules26, 3081. doi: 10.3390/molecules26113081
5
BartonA. B.KabackD. B.ClarkM. W.KengT.OuelletteB. F.StormsR. K.et al. (1993). Physical localization of yeast CYS3, a gene whose product resembles the rat gamma-cystathionase and escherichia coli cystathionine gamma-synthase enzymes. Yeast9 (4), 363–369. doi: 10.1002/yea.320090406
6
BellE. A. (2003). Nonprotein amino acids of plants: significance in medicine, nutrition, and agriculture. J. Agric. Food Chem.51, 2854–2865. doi: 10.1021/jf020880w
7
BreitingerU.ClausenT.EhlertS.HuberR.LaberB.SchmidtF.et al. (2001). The three-dimensional structure of cystathionine β-lyase from arabidopsis and its substrate specificity. Plant Physiol.126 (2), 631–642. doi: 10.1104/pp.126.2.631
8
ChakiM.ValderramaR.Fernández-OcañaA. M.CarrerasA.López-JaramilloJ.LuqueF.et al. (2009). Protein targets of tyrosine nitration in sunflower (Helianthus annuus l.) hypocotyls. J. Exp. Bot.60, 4221–4234. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erp263
9
ChangC. R.BowmanJ. L.MeyerowitzE. M. (2016). Field guide to plant model systems. Cell167, 325–339. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.08.031
10
ChawS. M.ChangC. C.ChenH. L.LiW. H. (2004). Dating the monocot–dicot divergence and the origin of core eudicots using whole chloroplast genomes. J. Mol. Evol.58, 424–441. doi: 10.1007/s00239-003-2564-9
11
ChenC.ChenH.ZhangY.ThomasH. R.FrankM. H.HeY.et al (2020). TBtools: An integrative toolkit developed for interactive analyses of big biological data. Molecular Plant. 13(8), 1194–1202. doi: 10.1016/j.molp.2020.06.009
12
ChubarovA. S. (2021). Homocysteine thiolactone: Biology and chemistry. Encyclopedia1, 445–459. doi: 10.3390/encyclopedia1020037
13
DanishpajoohI. O.GudiT.ChenY.KharitonovV. G.SharmaV. S.BossG. R. (2001). Nitric oxide inhibits methionine synthase activity in vivo and disrupts carbon flow through the folate pathway. J. Biol. Chem.276, 27296–27303. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M104043200
14
FesenkoI.SpechenkovaN.MamaevaA.MakhotenkoA. V.LoveA. J.KalininaN. O.et al. (2021). Role of the methionine cycle in the temperature-sensitive responses of potato plants to potato virus y. Mol. Plant Pathol.22, 77–91. doi: 10.1111/mpp.13009
15
Floryszak-WieczorekJ.Arasimowicz-JelonekM.MilczarekG.JanusŁ.Pawlak-SpradaS.AbramowskiD.et al. (2012). Nitric oxide-mediated stress imprint in potato as an effect of exposure to a priming agent. Mol. Plant-Microbe Interact.25, 1469–1477. doi: 10.1094/MPMI-02-12-0044-R
16
ForieriI.StichtC.ReicheltM.GretzN.HawkesfordM. J.MalagoliM.et al. (2017). System analysis of metabolism and the transcriptome in Arabidopsis thaliana roots reveals differential co-regulation upon iron, sulfur and potassium deficiency. Plant Cell Environ.40, 95–107. doi: 10.1111/pce.12842
17
GanapathyP. S.MoisterB.RoonP.MysonaB. A.DuplantierJ.DunY.et al. (2009). Endogenous elevation of homocysteine induces retinal neuron death in the cystathionine-b-synthase mutant mouse. Invest. Ophthalmol. Visual Sci.50, 4460–4470. doi: 10.1167/iovs.09-3402
18
GlowackiR.JakubowskiH. (2004). Cross-talk between Cys34 and lysine residues in human serum albumin revealed by n-homocysteinylation. J. Biol. Chem.279, 10864–10871. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M313268200
19
GrothM.MoissiardG.WirtzM.WangH.Garcia-SalinasC.Ramos-ParraP. A.et al. (2016). MTHFD1 controls DNA methylation in arabidopsis. Nat. Commun.7, 11640. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11640
20
HesseH.KreftO.MaimannS.ZehM.HoefgenR. (2004). Current understanding of the regulation of methionine biosynthesis in plants. J. Exp. Bot.55, 1799–1808. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erh139
21
HoffmanD. R.CornatzerW. E.DuerreJ. A. (1979). Relationship between tissue levels of s-adenosylmethionine, s-adenylhomocysteine, and transmethylation reactions. Can. J. Biochem.57, 56–65. doi: 10.1139/o79-007
22
HoggN. (1999). The effect of cyst(e)ine on the auto-oxidation of homocysteine. Free Radic. Biol. Med.27, 28–33. doi: 10.1016/s0891-5849(99)00029-5
23
HuangR. F. S.HuangS. M.LinB. S.WeiJ. S.LiuT. Z. (2001). Homocysteine thiolactone induces apoptotic DNA damage mediated by increased intracellular hydrogen peroxide and caspase 3 activation in HL-60 cells. Life Sci.68, 2799–2811. doi: 10.1016/s0024-3205(01)01066-9
24
HuJ.HuangX.ChenL.SunX.LuC.ZhangL.et al. (2015). Site-specific nitrosoproteomic identification of endogenously s-nitrosylated proteins in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol.167, 1731–1746. doi: 10.1104/pp.15.00026
25
HuB.JinJ.GuoA.-Y.ZhangH.LuoJ.GaoG. (2015). GSDS 2.0: an upgraded gene feature visualization server. Bioinformatics31 (8), 1296–1297. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btu817
26
JacobsenD. W.CatanescuO.DiBelloP. M.BarbatoJ. C. (2005). Molecular targeting by homocysteine: A mechanism for vascular pathogenesis. Clin. Chem. Lab. Med.43, 1076–1083. doi: 10.1515/CCLM.2005.188
27
JaillonO.AuryJ. M.NoelB.PolicritiA.ClepetC.CasagrandeA.et al. (2007). The grapevine genome sequence suggests ancestral hexaploidization in major angiosperm phyla. Nature449, U463–U465. doi: 10.1038/nature06148
28
JakubowskiH. (2006). Pathophysiological consequences of homocysteine excess. J. Nutr.136, 1741S–1749S. doi: 10.1093/jn/136.6.1741S
29
JakubowskiH. (2019). Homocysteine modification in protein structure/function and human disease. Physiol. Rev.99, 555–604. doi: 10.1152/physrev.00003.2018
30
JakubowskiH.GuranowskiA. (2003). Metabolism of homocysteine-thiolactone in plants. J. Biol. Chem.278, 6765–6770. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M211819200
31
JakubowskiH.ZhangL.BardeguezA.AvivA. (2000). Homocysteine thiolactone and protein homocysteinylation in human endothelial cells: Implications for atherosclerosis. Circ. Res.87, 45–51. doi: 10.1161/01.res.87.1.45
32
JanderG.KolukisaogluU.StahlM.YoonG. M. (2020). Editorial: Physiological aspects of non-proteinogenic amino acids in plants. Front. Plant Sci.11. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2020.519464
33
KamudhamasA.PangL.SmithS. D.SadovskyY.NelsonD. M. (2004). Homocysteine thiolactone induces apoptosis in cultured human trophoblasts: A mechanism for homocysteine-mediated placental dysfunction? Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol.191, 563–571. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2004.01.037
34
KocsisM. G.RanochaP.GageD. A.SimonE. S.RhodesD.PeelG. J.et al. (2003). Insertional inactivation of the methionine s-methyltransferase gene eliminates the s-methylmethionine cycle and increases the methylation ratio. Plant Physiol.131, 1808–1815. doi: 10.1104/pp.102.018846
35
KumarA.JohnL.AlamM. M.GuptaA.SharmaG.PillaiB.et al. (2006). Homocysteine- and cysteine-mediated growth defect is not associated with induction of oxidative stress response genes in yeast. Biochem. J.396, 61–69. doi: 10.1042/BJ20051411
36
LiangS.LiuH.LiuS.WeiM.GaoF.XueJ.et al. (2019). Homocysteine induces human mesangial cell apoptosis via the involvement of autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum stress. RSC Adv.9, 31720. doi: 10.1039/c9ra04248b
37
LiH.JiangF.WuP.WangK.CaoY. (2020). A high-quality genome sequence of model legume lotus japonicus (MG-20) provides insights into the evolution of root nodule symbiosis. Genes11 (5), 483. doi: 10.3390/genes11050483
38
LindermayrC.SaalbachG.DurnerJ. (2005). Proteomic identification of s-nitrosylated proteins in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol.137, 921–930. doi: 10.1104/pp.104.058719
39
Lozano-JusteJ.Colom-MorenoR.LeónJ. (2011). In vivo protein tyrosine nitration in Arabidopsis thaliana. J. Exp. Bot.62, 3501–3517. doi: 10.1093/jxb/err042
40
MalikS. I.HussainA.YunB. W.SpoelS. H.LoakeG. J. (2011). GSNOR-mediated de-nitrosylation in the plant defence response. Plant Sci.181, 540–544. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2011.04.004
41
MerciéP.GarnierO.LascosteL.RenardM.ClosseC.DurrieuF.et al. (2000). Homocysteine-thiolactone induces caspase-independent vascular endothelial cell death with apoptotic features. Apoptosis5, 403–411. doi: 10.1023/a:1009652011466
42
MoffattB. A.WeretilnykE. A. (2001). Sustaining s-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent methyltransferase activity in plant cells. Physiol. Plant113, 435–442. doi: 10.1034/j.1399-3054.2001.1130401.x
43
MorakinyoM. K.StronginR. M.SimoyiR. H. (2010). Modulation of homocysteine toxicity by s-nitrosothiol formation: a mechanistic approach. J. Phys. Chem. B114(30), 9894–9904. doi: 10.1021/jp103679v
44
NikiforovaV. J.DaubC. O.HesseH.WillmitzerL.HoefgenR. (2005). Integrative gene-metabolite network with implemented causality deciphers informational fluxes of sulphur stress response. J. Exp. Bot.56, 1887–1896. doi: 10.1093/jxb/eri179
45
OkamuraE.HiraiM. Y. (2017). Novel regulatory mechanism of serine biosynthesis associated with 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase in Arabidopsis thaliana. Sci. Rep.7, 3533. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-03807-5
46
OnoB.TanakaK.NaitoK.HeikeC.ShinodaS.YamamotoS.et al. (1992). Cloning and characterization of the CYS3 (CYI1) gene of saccharomyces cerevisiae. J. Bacteriol.174 (10), 3339–3347. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.10.3339-3347.1992
47
PanchyN.Lehti-ShiuM.ShiuS. H. (2016). Evolution of gene duplication in plants. Plant Physiol.171, 2294–2316. doi: 10.1104/pp.16.00523
48
PernaA. F.IngrossoD.LombardiC.AcanforaF.SattaE.CesareC. M.et al. (2003a). Possible mechanisms of homocysteine toxicity. Kidney Int. Suppl.84, S137–S140. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1755.63.s84.33.x
49
PernaA. F.IngrossoD.MolinoD.GallettiP.MontiniG.ZacchelloG.et al. (2003b). Hyperhomocysteinemia and protein damage in chronic renal failure and kidney transplant pediatric patients - Italian initiative on uremic hyperhomocysteinemia (IIUH). J. Nephrol.16, 516–521.
50
PuyaubertJ.FaresA.RézéN.PeltierJ. B.BaudouinE. (2014). Identification of endogenously s-nitrosylated proteins in arabidopsis plantlets: Effect of cold stress on cysteine nitrosylation level. Plant Sci., 215–216, 150–156. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2013.10.014
51
RanochaP.McNeilS. D.ZiemakM. J.LiC.TarczynskiM. C.HansonA. D. (2001). The s-methylmethionine cycle in angiosperms: Ubiquity, antiquity and activity. Plant J.25, 575–584. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-313x.2001.00988.x
52
Rasić-MarkovićA.StanojlovićO.HrncićD.KrstićD.ColovićM.SusićV.et al. (2009). The activity of erythrocyte and brain Na+/K+ and Mg2+-ATPases in rats subjected to acute homocysteine and homocysteine thiolactone administration. Mol. Cell. Biochem.327, 39–45. doi: 10.1007/s11010-009-0040-6
53
RavanelS.BlockM. A.RippertP.JabrinS.CurienG.RébeilléF.et al. (2004). Methionine metabolism in plants: Chloroplasts are autonomous for de novo methionine synthesis and can import s-adenosylmethionine from the cytosol. J. Biol. Chem.279, 22548–22557. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M313250200
54
RavanelS.GakièreB.JobD.DouceR. (1998). The specific features of methionine biosynthesis and metabolism in plants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.95, 7805–7812. doi: 10.1073/pnas.95.13.7805
55
RavanelS.JobD.DouceR. (1996). Purification and properties of cystathionine beta-lyase from Arabidopsis thaliana overexpressed in Escherichia coli. Biochem J.1,320 (Pt 2), 383–392. doi: 10.1042/bj3200383
56
RiegelB.de VigneaudV. (1935). The isolation of homocysteine and its conversion to thiolactone. J. Biol. Chem.112, 149–154. doi: 10.1016/S0021-9258(18)74973-9
57
RochaP. S. C. F.SheikhM.MelchiorreR.FagardM.BoutetS.LoachR.et al. (2005). The arabidopsis HOMOLOGY-DEPENDENT GENE SILENCING1 gene codes for an s-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase required for DNA methylation-dependent gene silencing. Plant Cell17, 404–417. doi: 10.1105/tpc.104.028332
58
RoeA. J.O'ByrneC.McLagganD.BoothI. R. (2002). Inhibition of Escherichia coli growth by acetic acid: A problem with methionine biosynthesis and homocysteine toxicity. Microbiology148, 2215–2222. doi: 10.1099/00221287-148-7-2215
59
RudolfE. E.HütherP.FornéI.GeorgiiE.HanY.HellR.et al. (2021). GSNOR contributes to demethylation and expression of transposable elements and stress-responsive genes. Antioxidants10, 1128. doi: 10.3390/antiox10071128
60
SatoK.NishiiT.SatoA.TatsunamiR. (2020). Autophagy activation is required for homocysteine-induced apoptosis in bovine aorta endothelial cells. Heliyon6, e03315. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03315
61
SauterM.MoffattB.SaechaoM. C.HellR.WirtzM. (2013). Methionine salvage and S-adenosylmethionine: Essential links between sulfur, ethylene and polyamine biosynthesis. Biochem J.451(2), 145–154. doi: 10.1042/BJ20121744
62
SengerB.DesponsL.WalterP.JakubowskiH.FasioloF. (2001). Yeast cytoplasmic and mitochondrial methionyl-tRNA synthetases: two structural frameworks for identical functions. J. Mol. Biol.311, 205–216. doi: 10.1006/jmbi.2001.4844
63
SikoraM.JakubowskiH. (2009). Homocysteine editing and growth inhibition in Escherichia coli. Microbiology155, 1858–1865. doi: 10.1099/mic.0.026609-0
64
ŠkovierováH.VidomanováE.MahmoodS.SopkováJ.DrgováA.ČerveňováT.et al. (2016). The molecular and cellular effect of homocysteine metabolism imbalance on human health. Int. J. Mol. Sci.17, 1733. doi: 10.3390/ijms17101733
65
SmithA. D.RefsumH. (2021). Homocysteine - from disease biomarker to disease prevention. J. Intern. Med.290, 826–854. doi: 10.1111/joim.13279
66
SpechenkovaN.FesenkoI. A.MamaevaA.SuprunovaT. P.KalininaN. O.LoveA. J.et al. (2021). The resistance responses of potato plants to potato virus y are associated with an increased cellular methionine content and an altered SAM:SAH methylation index. Viruses13, 955. doi: 10.3390/v13060955
67
TehlivetsO.MalanovicN.VisramM.Pavkov-KellerT.KellerM. (2013). S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase and methylation disorders: yeast as a model system. Biochim. Biophys. Acta1832, 204–215. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2012.09.007
68
TuiteN. L.FraserK. R.O'ByrneC. P. (2005). Homocysteine toxicity in Escherichia coli is caused by a perturbation of branched-chain amino acid biosynthesis. J. Bacteriol.187, 4362–4371. doi: 10.1128/JB.187.13.4362-4371.2005
69
TurnerM. A.YangX.YinD.KuczeraK.BorchardtR. T.HowellP. L. (2000). Structure and function of s-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase. Cell Biochem. Biophys.33 (2), 101–125. doi: 10.1385/CBB:33:2:101
70
VranovaV.RejsekK.SkeneK. R.FormánekP. (2011). Non-protein amino acids: plant, soil and ecosystem interactions. Plant Soil342, 31–48. doi: 10.1007/s11104-010-0673-y
71
WadaM.NakamuraS.NakashimaK. (2018). “HPLC analysis of homocysteine and related compounds,” in Non-proteinogenic amino acids. Eds. FilipN.IancuC. E. (London: IntechOpen). doi: 10.5772/intechopen.75030
72
WatanabeM.ChibaY.HiraiM. Y. (2021). Metabolism and regulatory functions of O-acetylserine, s-adenosylmethionine, homocysteine, and serine in plant development and environmental responses. Front. Plant Sci.12. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.643403
73
WuX.ZhangL.MiaoY.YangJ.WangX.WangC. C.et al. (2019). Homocysteine causes vascular endothelial dysfunction by disrupting endoplasmic reticulum redox homeostasis. Redox Biol.20, 46–59. doi: 10.1016/j.redox.2018.09.021
74
WuX.LiF.KolenovskyA.CaplanA.CuiY.CutlerA. (2009). A mutant deficient in S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase in Arabidopsis shows defects in root-hair development. Botany87, 571–584.
75
YamadaT.TakataY.KomotoJ.GomiT.OgawaH.FujiokaM.et al. (2005). Catalytic mechanism of s-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase: roles of his 54, Asp130, Glu155, Lys185, and Aspl89. Int. J. Biochem. Cell Biol.37 (11), 2417–2435. doi: 10.1016/j.biocel.2005.06.009
76
YanX.MaL.PangH.WangP.LiuL.ChengY.et al. (2019). METHIONINE SYNTHASE1 is involved in chromatin silencing by maintaining DNA and histone methylation. Plant Physiol.181, 249–261. doi: 10.1104/pp.19.00528
77
ZhangC.CaiY.AdachiM. T.OshiroS.AsoT.KaufmanR. J.et al. (2001). Homocysteine induces programmed cell death in human vascular endothelial cells through activation of the unfolded protein response. J. Biol. Chem.276, 35867–35874. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M100747200
78
ZimnyJ.SikoraM.GuranowskiA.JakubowskiH. (2006). Protective mechanisms against homocysteine toxicity: the role of bleomycin hydrolase. J. Biol. Chem.281, 22485–22492. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M603656200
Summary
Keywords
homocysteine, non-proteinogenic amino acid, homocysteine derivatives, methionine metabolism, stress biomarker(s)
Citation
Sobieszczuk-Nowicka E, Arasimowicz-Jelonek M, Tanwar UK and Floryszak-Wieczorek J (2022) Plant homocysteine, a methionine precursor and plant’s hallmark of metabolic disorders. Front. Plant Sci. 13:1044944. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1044944
Received
15 September 2022
Accepted
14 November 2022
Published
08 December 2022
Volume
13 - 2022
Edited by
Cankui Zhang, Purdue University, United States
Reviewed by
Farida Minibayeva, Kazan Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (RAS), Russia
Updates

Check for updates
Copyright
© 2022 Sobieszczuk-Nowicka, Arasimowicz-Jelonek, Tanwar and Floryszak-Wieczorek.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Jolanta Floryszak-Wieczorek, jolanta.floryszak@up.poznan.pl
This article was submitted to Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity, a section of the journal Frontiers in Plant Science
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.