Reactive oxygen species: Multidimensional regulators of plant adaptation to abiotic stress and development.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are produced as undesirable by-products of metabolism in various cellular compartments, especially in response to unfavorable environmental conditions, throughout the life cycle of plants. Stress-induced ROS production disrupts normal cellular function and leads to oxidative damage. To cope with excessive ROS, plants are equipped with a sophisticated antioxidative defense system consisting of enzymatic and non-enzymatic components that scavenge ROS or inhibit their harmful effects on biomolecules.