Master-class: Methods of detection of reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, in particular, hydrogen peroxide, in biological objects (higher plants) and in different solutions.

Level of ROS is considered to be one of the indicators of functional state of plants under stress conditions. High level of ROS leads to oxidative stress conditions, at the same time ROS, in particular hydrogen peroxide, participate in signal transduction pathways, that is necessary for adaptation of plants to stress conditions. The very high accumulation of ROS results in oxidative damage due to the toxic action of ROS.

The level of ROS will be detected by several methods: spectrofluorimetric, amperometric and chemiluminescence methods.

• Spectrofluorimetric method allows to follow the fluorescence intensity of dyes, which after reaction of with ROS form fluorescent products.
• Amperometric (polarographic) method is based on the measurement of oxygen content exchange in a vessel using Clark-type oxygen electrode.
• Chemiluminescence method is based on the measurement of peroxidative oxidation of luminol. Fast freezing of leaves in liquid nitrogen along with the use of trichloroacetic acid allow to define the content of hydrogen peroxide in any objects.

Two scientific tasks will be solved in the course of the master-class:
Task 1: The influence of the illumination level of plants on the ROS production level will be established in order to determine the light intensity, which leads to the oxidative stress in plants.
Task 2: Comparison of the content of the hydrogen peroxide level will be made using various solutions: distilled water, tap water and bottled water.

Any questions to address before the conference:
Borisova Maria, PhD, leading scientific worker, laboratory of photosynthetic electron transport. Email: mubarakshinamm@gmail.com