Signaling through reactive oxygen and nitrogen species is differentially modulated in sunflower seedling root and cotyledon in response to various nitric oxide donors and scavengers.

Sodium nitroprusside (SNP), diethylenetriamine NONOate (DETA), S-nitroso-n-acetyl-D,L- penicillamine (SNAP), and 4-(p-methoxyphenyl)-1,3,2- Oxathiazolylium-5-olate (CAY) exhibit differential NO releasing ability in aqueous solution and hemoglobin is a more efficient NO quencher than cPTIO in solution. DETA releases 16% more NO compared with SNP in solution. Various NO donors (SNP, DETA, SNAP, and CAY) also bring about a differential but concentration-dependent increase in endogenous NO in seedling cotyledons and roots. Two-day old, dark-grown seedling roots exhibit 95%, 77%, 59% and 45% increase in NO content in presence of each of 500 µM of DETA, SNAP, CAY and SNP, respectively, relative to control. NO accumulation in the tissue system as a response to NO donors is reflected in terms of corresponding peroxynitrite accumulation. Release of cyanide and free iron as byproducts of SNP dissociation in solution limits its usefulness as an NO donor. SNP leads to profuse ROS generation in sunflower seedling roots. Light is not a pre-requisite for NO generation from SNP. Present work also demonstrates the usefulness of hemoglobin over cPTIO as NO scavenger. Hemoglobin brings about increasing NO quenching with its increasing concentration from 2.5 to 10 µM. Greater sensitivity of the root system to the NO donor/scavenger treatments is evident, it being in direct contact with the molecules in the incubation/ growth medium. This differential effect does not seem to be significantly transmitted to the cotyledons (long-distance signaling).