The responses of plants to abiotic stress involve the up-regulation of numerous metabolic pathways, including several major routes that engage thiamine diphosphate (TDP)-dependent enzymes. This suggests that the metabolism of thiamine (vitamin B1) and its phosphate esters in plants may be modulated under various stress conditions. In the present study, Zea mays seedlings were used as a model system to analyse for any relation between the plant response to abiotic stress and the properties of thiamine biosynthesis and activation. Conditions of drought, high salt, and oxidative stress were induced by polyethylene glycol, sodium chloride, and hydrogen peroxide, respectively. The expected increases in the abscisic acid levels and in the activities of antioxidant enzymes including catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, and glutathione reductase were found under each stress condition. The total thiamine compound content in the maize seedling leaves increased under each stress condition applied, with the strongest effects on these levels observed under the oxidative stress treatment. This increase was also found to be associated with changes in the relative distribution of free thiamine, thiamine monophosphate (TMP), and TDP. Surprisingly, the activity of the thiamine synthesizing enzyme, TMP synthase, responded poorly to abiotic stress, in contrast to the significant enhancement found for the activities of the TDP synthesizing enzyme, thiamine pyrophosphokinase, and a number of the TDP/TMP phosphatases. Finally, a moderate increase in the activity of transketolase, one of the major TDP-dependent enzymes, was detectable under conditions of salt and oxidative stress. These findings suggest a role of thiamine metabolism in the plant response to environmental stress.

Numerous recent studies have established a hypothesis that thiamine (vitamin B1 ) is involved in the responses of different organisms against stress, also suggesting that underlying mechanisms are not limited to the universal role of thiamine diphosphate (TDP) in the central cellular metabolism. The current work aimed at characterising the effect of exogenously added thiamine on the response of baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to the oxidative (1 mM H2 O2 ), osmotic (1 M sorbitol) and thermal (42 °C) stress. As compared to the yeast culture in thiamine-free medium, in the presence of 1.4 μM external thiamine, (1) the relative mRNA levels of major TDP-dependent enzymes under stress conditions vs. unstressed control (the 'stress/control ratio') were moderately lower, (2) the stress/control ratio was strongly decreased for the transcript levels of several stress markers localised to the cytoplasm, peroxisomes, the cell wall and (with the strongest effect observed) the mitochondria (e.g. Mn-superoxide dismutase), (3) the production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species under stress conditions was markedly decreased, with the significant alleviation of concomitant protein oxidation. The results obtained suggest the involvement of thiamine in the maintenance of redox balance in yeast cells under oxidative stress conditions, partly independent of the functions of TDP-dependent enzymes.

One of the most significant biosphere contamination problems worldwide is derived from heavy metals. Heavy metals can be highly reactive and toxic according to their oxidation levels. Their toxic effects are associated with the increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cellular damage induced in plants. The present study focuses on the effects of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) applied to the soil on the antioxidant response and allergen production in the aromatic plant basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) following a combined physiological, biochemical and analytical approach. The concentrations used for the three heavy metals were based on the 2002 Regulation of the Polish Ministry of the Environment on Soil Quality Standards [(i) agricultural land (group B): Ni 100 ppm, Ni 210 ppm, Cu 200 ppm, Cu 500 ppm, Zn 720 ppm and (ii) industrial land (group C): Ni 500 ppm, Cu 1000 ppm, Zn 1500 ppm, Zn 3000 ppm]. The highest physiological and cellular damage in basil plants was caused by Cu and Zn. Increasing concentrations of Cu resulted in a further increase in cellular damage and nitro-oxidative stress, correlating with an induction in activity of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species metabolism enzymes (SOD, CAT, APX, NR). Treatment with Cu led to increased concentration of the allergenic protein profilin, while increasing concentrations of Cu and Zn led to a decrease in the concentration of total proteins (likely due to proteolysis) and antioxidant capacity. Interestingly, severe Cu stress resulted in the accumulation of specific proteins related to transpiration and photosynthetic processes. On the basis of these findings, Ni stress in basil plants appears to be less damaging and with lower allergenic potential compared with Cu and Zn stress, while Cu-stressed basil plants experience most detrimental effects and display highest allergen production.

Thiamin (vitamin B1) is an essential molecule for all living organisms. Its major biologically active derivative is thiamin diphosphate, which serves as a cofactor for several enzymes involved in carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism. Important new functions for thiamin and its phosphate esters have recently been suggested, e.g. in gene expression regulation by influencing mRNA structure, in DNA repair after UV illumination, and in the protection of some organelles against reactive oxygen species. Unlike higher animals, which rely on nutritional thiamin intake, yeasts can synthesize thiamin de novo. The biosynthesis pathways include the separate synthesis of two precursors, 4-amino -5-hydroxymethyl-2-methylpyrimidine diphosphate and 5-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-methylthiazole phosphate, which are then condensed into thiamin monophosphate. Additionally, yeasts evolved salvage mechanisms to utilize thiamin and its dephosphorylated late precursors, 4-amino-5-hydroxymethyl-2-methylpyrimidine and 5-(2-hydroxyethyl)-4-methylthiazole, from the environment. The current state of knowledge on the discrete steps of thiamin biosynthesis in yeasts is far from satisfactory; many intermediates are postulated only by analogy to the much better understood biosynthesis process in bacteria. On the other hand, the genetic mechanisms regulating thiamin biosynthesis in yeasts are currently under extensive exploration. Only recently, the structures of some of the yeast enzymes involved in thiamin biosynthesis, such as thiamin diphosphokinase and thiazole synthase, were determined at the atomic resolution, and mechanistic proposals for the catalysis of particular biosynthetic steps started to emerge.

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