一氧化氮在植物体内的来源和功能

一氧化氮(nitric oxide，NO)是生物体内重要的活性分子。NO参与了动物体内血管松弛、神经传递及免疫防御反应等一系列生理功能而被认为是可扩散的多功能第二信使。在植物体内NO也是一种广泛存在的信号分子，参与调节了许多重要的生理过程如生长、发育、抗病防御反应、细胞程序性死亡和抗逆反应。对NO在植物体内的来源、信号转导、调节植物生长发育和对胁迫的响应方面所发挥的作用进行了综述，并讨论了其潜在的一些功能。

Source and function of Nitric Oxide in plants

Nitric Oxide (NO) is an important active molecule in biology. It is first described as a diffusible multifunctional second messenger in animals since it plays various functions including the relaxation of blood vessels, neurotransmission and defense during immune response etc. It is now being evident that NO is also a ubiquitous signal molecule in plant kingdom. It was proved to participate in many key physiological processes such as growth, development, pathogen defense reaction, programmed cell death, and stress tolerance. Possible sources of NO and the role in signaling transduction, regulating plant development and the responses to stresses are reviewed and some other possible functions of NO in plants are discussed.