EFFECT OF SULFUR-DIOXIDE ON GLUTATHIONE IN LEAVES OF PLANTS

The content of total water extractable SH compounds was estimated in healthy and SO2-affected leaves of Picea, Pinus, Larix and Betula. SH concentrations of 0·24 to 0·35 μmole/g dry weight in control leaves were found to increase by a factor of 4 to 6 with increasing contamination of the air from SO2. In both control and SO2-affected leaves glutathione (GSH) is the most abundant SH compound, usually comprising more than 95% of the total SH content. It is assumed that the chronic increase in the level of GSH in SO2-affected leaves changes the natural balance of the SH/SS in the cell and thereby induces a general disruption of fundamental cellular processes. © 1979.