Low public awareness opens up new opportunities for highlighting milk as an iodine dietary source.

This international survey provides insights into public awareness of the importance of iodine as an essential trace mineral in human health along with knowledge of iodine dietary sources. The online questionnaire included sociodemographic aspects and dietary iodine consumer awareness on 7-point Likert-type questions. A total of 4,704 questionnaires from 16 countries were considered. Answers were analyzed through a multiple regression linear model including country, gender, age, education level, and employment status as fixed effects. Respondents were moderately aware of the importance of fish (4.86) and seafood (4.90) as dietary iodine sources, but less aware of milk as a primary iodine source (3.32). Respondent awareness varied considerably across countries. Age, education level, and employment status only modified their perception when asked about fish and seafood as a source of iodine, with elderly respondents, those highly educated and of working age being more aware of their relevance as dietary iodine sources. Respondent knowledge did not vary by age, education level, employment status, or gender when asked about cereals, vegetables and fruits, meat and milk as iodine-rich food sources. Consequently, labeling milk and dairy products as an iodine-rich food source should be considered. Public authorities can consider the results from this survey in promotional campaigns to improve the awareness of different iodine sources and their beneficial effect on health.

Metabolic-GWAS provides insights into genetic architecture of seed metabolome in buckwheat.

BACKGROUND: Buckwheat (Fagopyrum spp.), belonging to the Polygonaceae family, is an ancient pseudo-cereal with high nutritional and nutraceutical properties. Buckwheat proteins are gluten-free and show balanced amino acid and micronutrient profiles, with higher content of health-promoting bioactive flavonoids that make it a golden crop of the future. Plant metabolome is increasingly gaining importance as a crucial component to understand the connection between plant physiology and environment and as a potential link between the genome and phenome. However, the genetic architecture governing the metabolome and thus, the phenome is not well understood. Here, we aim to obtain a deeper insight into the genetic architecture of seed metabolome in buckwheat by integrating high throughput metabolomics and genotyping-by-sequencing applying an array of bioinformatics tools for data analysis. RESULTS: High throughput metabolomic analysis identified 24 metabolites in seed endosperm of 130 diverse buckwheat genotypes. The genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) of these genotypes revealed 3,728,028 SNPs. The Genome Association and Prediction Integrated Tool (GAPIT) assisted in the identification of 27 SNPs/QTLs linked to 18 metabolites. Candidate genes were identified near 100 Kb of QTLs, providing insights into several metabolic and biosynthetic pathways. CONCLUSIONS: We established the metabolome inventory of 130 germplasm lines of buckwheat, identified QTLs through marker trait association and positions of potential candidate genes. This will pave the way for future dissection of complex economic traits in buckwheat.

Buckwheat OMICS: present status and future prospects.

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum spp.) is an underutilized resilient crop of North Western Himalayas belonging to the family Polygonaceae and is a source of essential nutrients and therapeutics. Common Buckwheat and Tatary Buckwheat are the two main cultivated species used as food. It is the only grain crop possessing rutin, an important metabolite with high nutraceutical potential. Due to its inherent tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stresses and a short life cycle, Buckwheat has been proposed as a model crop plant. Nutritional security is one of the major concerns, breeding for a nutrient-dense crop such as Buckwheat will provide a sustainable solution. Efforts toward improving Buckwheat for nutrition and yield are limited due to the lack of available: genetic resources, genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics. In order to harness the agricultural importance of Buckwheat, an integrated breeding and OMICS platforms needs to be established that can pave the way for a better understanding of crop biology and developing commercial varieties. This, coupled with the availability of the genome sequences of both Buckwheat species in the public domain, should facilitate the identification of alleles/QTLs and candidate genes. There is a need to further our understanding of the molecular basis of the genetic regulation that controls various economically important traits. The present review focuses on: the food and nutritional importance of Buckwheat, its various omics resources, utilization of omics approaches in understanding Buckwheat biology and, finally, how an integrated platform of breeding and omics will help in developing commercially high yielding nutrient rich cultivars in Buckwheat.

Novel echocardiographic score to predict duct-dependency after percutaneous relief of critical pulmonary valve stenosis/atresia.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify clinical, hemodynamic, or echocardiographic predictive features of persistent duct-dependency of pulmonary circulation (PDDPC) after effective percutaneous relief of pulmonary atresia with the intact ventricular septum (PA-IVS) or critical pulmonary stenosis (CPS). METHODS: From 2010 to 2021, 55 neonates with PA-IVS or CPS underwent percutaneous right ventricle (RV) decompression at our Institution. After successfully relief of critical obstruction, 27 patients (group I) showed PDDPC, whereas RV was able to support the pulmonary circulation in the remaining 28 patients (group II). Clinical, hemodynamic, and echocardiographic features of these two groups were compared. RESULTS: No significant difference in clinical and hemodynamic data was found between the groups, although the group I had a lower oxygen saturation at hospital admission. However, tricuspid valve (TV) diameter <8.8 mm, TV z-score ←2.12, tricuspid/mitral valve annular ratio <.78, pulmonary valve diameter <6.7 mm, pulmonary valve z-score ←1.17, end-diastolic RV area <1.35 cm2 , end-systolic right atrium area >2.45 cm2 , percentage amount of interatrial right-to-left shunt >69.5%, moderate/severe tricuspid regurgitation, RV systolic pressure >42.5 mmHg, tricuspid E/E' ratio >6.6 showed each significant predictive value of PDDPC. These parameters were used to build a composite echocardiographic score (PDDPC-score), assigning one point each above the respective cut-off value. A score ≥4.00 showed high sensitivity (100%) and specificity (86%) in predicting PDDPC. CONCLUSION: Clinical and hemodynamic features fail to predict the short-term fate of the pulmonary circulation after successful treatment of PA-IVS/CPS. However, a simple, composite echocardiographic score is useful to predict PDDPC and could be crucial in the management of this frail subset of patients.

Rare case of Kawasaki disease with cardiac tamponade and giant coronary artery aneurysms.

Kawasaki disease is an acute systemic vascular disease, generally self-limited and typically affecting children <5 years old, which leads to coronary artery aneurysms in about 25% of untreated cases. Cardiovascular involvement is characterised by transient pancarditis, in acute phase, while coronary illness, ranging from mild dilation to giant CAAs occurs late, rarely before the 10th day since fever onset. Here, we describe a peculiar case of KD, which occurred in a 4-month-old infant and presented with exudate cardiac tamponade and early giant aneurism of both the proximal right coronary artery) and the left circumflex coronary artery, in acute phase of the disease.

Efficient protein extraction for shotgun proteomics from hydrated and desiccated leaves of resurrection Ramonda serbica plants.

Resurrection plant Ramonda serbica is a suitable model to investigate vegetative desiccation tolerance. However, the detailed study of these mechanisms at the protein level is hampered by the severe tissue water loss, high amount of phenolics and polysaccharide, and possible protein modifications and aggregations during the extraction and purification steps. When applied to R. serbica leaves, widely used protein extraction protocols containing polyvinylpolypyrrolidone and ascorbate, as well as the phenol/SDS/buffer-based protocol recommended for recalcitrant plant tissues failed to eliminate persistent contamination and ensure high protein quality. Here we compared three protein extraction approaches aiming to establish the optimal one for both hydrated and desiccated R. serbica leaves. To evaluate the efficacy of these protocols by shotgun proteomics, we also created the first R. serbica annotated transcriptome database, available at http://www.biomed.unipd.it/filearrigoni/Trinity_Sample_RT2.fasta . The detergent-free phenol-based extraction combined with dodecyl-ß-D-maltoside-assisted extraction enabled high-yield and high-purity protein extracts. The phenol-based protocol improved the protein-band resolution, band number, and intensity upon electrophoresis, and increased the protein yield and the number of identified peptides and protein groups by LC-MS/MS. Additionally, dodecyl-ß-D-maltoside enabled solubilisation and identification of more membrane-associated proteins. The presented study paves the way for investigating the desiccation tolerance in R. serbica, and we recommend this protocol for similar recalcitrant plant material.

Accumulation and effects of perfluoroalkyl substances in three hydroponically grown Salix L. species.

The potential of young rooted cuttings of three Salix L. species plants to accumulate a mixture of eleven perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), in particular, perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), from the nutrient solution and their effects on plant growth and photosynthesis were assessed in an 8-day experiment. The growth rate of the willow plants exposed to the PFAA mixture was not much affected except for S. triandra. Regarding photosynthesis, the gas exchange parameters were affected more than those related to chlorophyll fluorescence, with significant increase of the net CO2 assimilation rate and parameters related to stomatal conductance. A decreasing trend in the PFAA concentration in leaves with increasing carbon chain length was observed, whereas long-chain PFAAs showed higher concentrations in roots. Accordingly, the foliage to root concentration factor highlighted that PFAAs with shorter carbon chain length (C ≤ 7) translocated and accumulated relatively more in leaves compared to roots. Removal efficiency of individual PFAAs for leaves and roots were comparatively higher with S. eleagnos and S. purpurea than S. triandra, with mean removal values at the whole plant level ranging around 10% of the amount initially spiked, suggesting their potential for phytoremediation of PFASs.

Unplanned readmission after outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

BACKGROUND: Readmission after surgery has been considered as a measure of quality of hospital and surgical care. This study aims to investigate unplanned readmission after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. METHODS: The NSQIP database was used to investigate 30 days unplanned readmission after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Multivariate analysis was used to identify predictors of readmission. RESULTS: We found a total of 117,248 patients who underwent outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy during 2014-2016. Of these 3315 (2.8%) had unplanned readmission. Overall, 90% of readmitted patients were discharged after one day of hospitalization. Pain (14.07%) followed by unspecified symptoms including fever, nausea, vomiting, ileus was the most common reason for readmission. After adjustment, factors such as renal failure on dialysis (AOR: 2.26, P < 0.01), discharge to a facility (AOR: 1.93, P < 0.01), and steroid use for chronic condition (AOR: 1.51, P < 0.01), were associated with unplanned readmission. CONCLUSION: Overall, 2.8% of the patients undergoing outpatient laparoscopic cholecystectomy are readmitted to the hospital. Most of such patients are discharged after one day of hospitalization. Unspecified symptoms such as pain and vomiting were the most common reasons for readmission. Readmission strongly influences patients' comorbid factors and it is not a reliable measurement of quality of hospital and surgical care.

Focusing on "the important" through targeted NMR experiments: an example of selective 13C-12C bond detection in complex mixtures.

Current research is attempting to address more complex questions than ever before. As such, the need to follow complex processes in intact media and mixtures is becoming commonplace. Here, a targeted NMR experiment is introduced which selectively detects the formation of 13C-12C bonds in mixtures. This study introduces the experiment on simple standards, and then demonstrates the potential on increasingly complex processes including: fermentation, Arabidopsis thaliana germination/early growth, and metabolism in Daphnia magna both ex vivo and in vivo. As signals from the intact 12C and 13C pools are themselves filtered out, correlations are only observed when a component from each pool combines (i.e. new 13C-12C bonds) in the formation of new structures. This targeted approach significantly reduces the complexity of the mixtures and provides information on the fate and reactivity of carbon in environmental and biological processes. The experiment has application to follow bond formation wherever two pools of carbon are brought together, be it the incorporation of 13C enriched food into a living organism's biomass, or the degradation of 13C enriched plant material in soil.

Nitrate affects transcriptional regulation of UPBEAT1 and ROS localisation in roots of Zea mays L.

Nitrogen (N) is an indispensable nutrient for crops but its availability in agricultural soils is subject to considerable fluctuation. Plants have developed plastic responses to external N fluctuations in order to optimise their development. The coordinated action of nitric oxide and auxin seems to allow the cells of the root apex transition zone (TZ) of N-deprived maize to rapidly sense nitrate (NO3 - ). Preliminary results support the hypothesis that reactive oxygen species (ROS) signalling might also have a role in this pathway, probably through a putative maize orthologue of UPBEAT1 (UPB1). To expand on this hypothesis and better understand the different roles played by different root portions, we investigated the dynamics of ROS production, and the molecular and biochemical regulation of the main components of ROS production and scavenging in tissues of the meristem, transition zone, elongation zone and maturation zone of maize roots. The results suggest that the inverse regulation of ZmUPB1 and ZmPRX112 transcription observed in cells of the TZ in response to nitrogen depletion or NO3 - supply affects the balance between superoxide (O2 •- ) and hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) in the root apex and consequently triggers differential root growth. This explanation is supported by additional results on the overall metabolic and transcriptional regulation of ROS homeostasis.

A proteomic and biochemical investigation on the effects of sulfadiazine in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Animal manure or bio-solids used as fertilizers are the main routes of antibiotic exposure in the agricultural land, which can have immense detrimental effects on plants. Sulfadiazine (SDZ), belonging to the class of sulfonamides, is one of the most detected antibiotics in the agricultural soil. In this study, the effect of SDZ on the growth, changes in antioxidant metabolite content and enzyme activities related to oxidative stress were analysed. Moreover, the proteome alterations in Arabidopsis thaliana roots in response to SDZ was examined by means of a combined iTRAQ-LC-MS/MS quantitative proteomics approach. A dose-dependent decrease in leaf biomass and root length was evidenced in response to SDZ. Increased malondialdehyde content at higher concentration (2 µM) of SDZ indicated increased lipid peroxidation and suggest the induction of oxidative stress. Glutathione levels were significantly higher compared to control, whereas there was no increase in ascorbate content or the enzyme activities of glutathione metabolism, even at higher concentrations. In total, 48 differentially abundant proteins related to stress/stimuli response followed by transcription and translation, metabolism, transport and other functions were identified. Several proteins related to oxidative, dehydration, salinity and heavy metal stresses were represented. Upregulation of peroxidases was validated with total peroxidase activity. Pathway analysis provided an indication of increased phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. Probable molecular mechanisms altered in response to SDZ are highlighted.

CfPDIP1, a novel secreted protein of Colletotrichum falcatum, elicits defense responses in sugarcane and triggers hypersensitive response in tobacco.

Colletotrichum falcatum, a hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen, causes one of the major devastating diseases of sugarcane-red rot. C. falcatum secretes a plethora of molecular signatures that might play a crucial role during its interaction with sugarcane. Here, we report the purification and characterization of a novel secreted protein of C. falcatum that elicits defense responses in sugarcane and triggers hypersensitive response (HR) in tobacco. The novel protein purified from the culture filtrate of C. falcatum was identified by MALDI TOF/TOF MS and designated as C. falcatum plant defense-inducing protein 1 (CfPDIP1). Temporal transcriptional profiling showed that the level of CfPDIP1 expression was greater in incompatible interaction than the compatible interaction until 120 h post-inoculation (hpi). EffectorP, an in silico tool, has predicted CfPDIP1 as a potential effector. Functional characterization of full length and two other domain deletional variants (CfPDIP1ΔN1-21 and CfPDIP1ΔN1-45) of recombinant CfPDIP1 proteins has indicated that CfPDIP1ΔN1-21 variant elicited rapid alkalinization and induced a relatively higher production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in sugarcane suspension culture. However, in Nicotiana tabacum, all the three forms of recombinant CfPDIP1 proteins triggered HR along with the induction of H2O2 production and callose deposition. Further characterization using detached leaf bioassay in sugarcane revealed that foliar priming with CfPDIP1∆1-21 has suppressed the extent of lesion development, even though the co-infiltration of CfPDIP1∆1-21 with C. falcatum on unprimed leaves increased the extent of lesion development than control. Besides, the foliar priming has induced systemic expression of major defense-related genes with the concomitant reduction of pathogen biomass and thereby suppression of red rot severity in sugarcane. Comprehensively, the results have suggested that the novel protein, CfPDIP1, has the potential to trigger a multitude of defense responses in sugarcane and tobacco upon priming and might play a potential role during plant-pathogen interactions.

Proteomic analysis of a compatible interaction between sugarcane and Sporisorium scitamineum.

Smut caused by Sporisorium scitamineum is one of the important diseases of sugarcane with global significance. Despite the intriguing nature of sugarcane, S. scitamineum interaction, several pertinent aspects remain unexplored. This study investigates the proteome level alterations occurring in the meristem of a S. scitamineum infected susceptible sugarcane cultivar at whip emergence stage. Differentially abundant proteins were identified by 2DE coupled with MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS. Comprehensively, 53 sugarcane proteins identified were related to defence, stress, metabolism, protein folding, energy, and cell division; in addition, a putative effector of S. scitamineum, chorismate mutase, was identified. Transcript expression vis-à-vis the activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase was relatively higher in the infected meristem. Abundance of seven candidate proteins in 2D gel profiles was in correlation with its corresponding transcript expression levels as validated by qRT-PCR. Furthermore, this study has opened up new perspectives on the interaction between sugarcane and S. scitamineum.

Quantification of whey proteins by reversed phase-HPLC and effectiveness of mid-infrared spectroscopy for their rapid prediction in sweet whey.

In the dairy industry, membrane filtration is used to reduce the amount of whey waste and, simultaneously, to recover whey proteins (WP). The composition of WP can strongly affect the filtration treatment of whey, and rapid determination of WP fractions would be of interest for dairy producers to monitor WP recovery. This study aimed to develop mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIRS) prediction models for the rapid quantification of protein in sweet whey, using a validated rapid reversed phase (RP)-HPLC as a reference method. Quantified WP included α-lactalbumin (α-LA), ß-lactoglobulin (ß-LG) A and B, bovine serum albumin, caseinomacropeptides, and proteose peptone. Validation of RP-HPLC was performed by calculating the relative standard deviation (RSD) in repeatability and reproducibility tests for WP retention time and peak areas. Samples of liquid whey (n=187) were analyzed by RP-HPLC and scanned through MIRS to collect spectral information (900 to 4,000 cm(-1)); statistical analysis was carried out through partial least squares regression and random cross-validation procedure. Retention times in RP-HPLC method were stable (RSD between 0.03 and 0.80%), whereas the RSD of peak area (from 0.25 to 8.48%) was affected by WP relative abundance. Higher coefficients of determination in validation for MIRS model were obtained for protein fractions present in whey in large amounts, such as ß-LG (0.58), total identified WP (0.58), and α-LA (0.56). Results of this study suggest that MIRS is an easy method for rapid quantification of detail protein in sweet whey, even if better resolution was achieved with the method based on RP-HPLC. The prediction of WP in sweet whey by MIRS might be used for screening and for classifying sweet whey according to its total and individual WP contents.

Nitrate sensing by the maize root apex transition zone: a merged transcriptomic and proteomic survey.

Nitrate is an essential nutrient for plants, and crops depend on its availability for growth and development, but its presence in agricultural soils is far from stable. In order to overcome nitrate fluctuations in soil, plants have developed adaptive mechanisms allowing them to grow despite changes in external nitrate availability. Nitrate can act as both nutrient and signal, regulating global gene expression in plants, and the root tip has been proposed as the sensory organ. A set of genome-wide studies has demonstrated several nitrate-regulated genes in the roots of many plants, although only a few studies have been carried out on distinct root zones. To unravel new details of the transcriptomic and proteomic responses to nitrate availability in a major food crop, a double untargeted approach was conducted on a transition zone-enriched root portion of maize seedlings subjected to differing nitrate supplies. The results highlighted a complex transcriptomic and proteomic reprogramming that occurs in response to nitrate, emphasizing the role of this root zone in sensing and transducing nitrate signal. Our findings indicated a relationship of nitrate with biosynthesis and signalling of several phytohormones, such as auxin, strigolactones, and brassinosteroids. Moreover, the already hypothesized involvement of nitric oxide in the early response to nitrate was confirmed with the use of nitric oxide inhibitors. Our results also suggested that cytoskeleton activation and cell wall modification occurred in response to nitrate provision in the transition zone.

Ethylene negatively regulates transcript abundance of ROP-GAP rheostat-encoding genes and affects apoplastic reactive oxygen species homeostasis in epicarps of cold stored apple fruits.

Apple (Malus×domestica Borkh) fruits are stored for long periods of time at low temperatures (1 °C) leading to the occurrence of physiological disorders. 'Superficial scald' of Granny Smith apples, an economically important ethylene-dependent disorder, was used as a model to study relationships among ethylene action, the regulation of the ROP-GAP rheostat, and maintenance of H2O2 homeostasis in fruits during prolonged cold exposure. The ROP-GAP rheostat is a key module for adaptation to low oxygen in Arabidopsis through Respiratory Burst NADPH Oxidase Homologs (RBOH)-mediated and ROP GTPase-dependent regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis. Here, it was shown that the transcriptional expression of several components of the apple ROP-GAP machinery, including genes encoding RBOHs, ROPs, and their ancillary proteins ROP-GEFs and ROP-GAPs, is coordinately and negatively regulated by ethylene in conjunction with the progressive impairment of apoplastic H2O2 homeostatic levels. RNA sequencing analyses showed that several components of the known ROP- and ROS-associated transcriptional networks are regulated along with the ROP-GAP rheostat in response to ethylene perception. These findings may extend the role of the ROP-GAP rheostat beyond hypoxic responses and suggest that it may be a functional regulatory node involved in the integration of ethylene and ROS signalling pathways in abiotic stress.

First systematic plant proteomics workshop in Botany Department, University of Delhi: transferring proteomics knowledge to next-generation researchers and students.

International Plant Proteomics Organization (INPPO) outlined ten initiatives to promote plant proteomics in each and every country. With greater emphasis in developing countries, one of those was to "organize workshops at national and international levels to train manpower and exchange information". This third INPPO highlights covers the workshop organized for the very first time in a developing country, India, at the Department of Botany in University of Delhi on December 26-30, 2013 titled - "1(st) Plant Proteomics Workshop / Training Program" under the umbrella of INPPO India-Nepal chapter. Selected 20 participants received on-hand training mainly on gel-based proteomics approach along with manual booklet and parallel lectures on this and associated topics. In house, as well as invited experts drawn from other Universities and Institutes (national and international), delivered talks on different aspects of gel-based and gel-free proteomics. Importance of gel-free proteomics approach, translational proteomics, and INPPO roles were presented and interactively discussed by a group of three invited speakers Drs. Ganesh Kumar Agrawal (Nepal), Randeep Rakwal (Japan), and Antonio Masi (Italy). Given the output of this systematic workshop, it was proposed and thereafter decided to be organized every alternate year; the next workshop will be held in 2015. Furthermore, possibilities on providing advanced training to those students / researchers / teachers with basic knowledge in proteomics theory and experiments at national and international levels were discussed. INPPO is committed to generating next-generation trained manpower in proteomics, and it would only happen by the firm determination of scientists to come forward and do it.

A plant spermine oxidase/dehydrogenase regulated by the proteasome and polyamines.

Polyamine oxidases (PAOs) are flavin-dependent enzymes involved in polyamine catabolism. In Arabidopsis five PAO genes (AtPAO1-AtPAO5) have been identified which present some common characteristics, but also important differences in primary structure, substrate specificity, subcellular localization, and tissue-specific expression pattern, differences which may suggest distinct physiological roles. In the present work, AtPAO5, the only so far uncharacterized AtPAO which is specifically expressed in the vascular system, was partially purified from 35S::AtPAO5-6His Arabidopsis transgenic plants and biochemically characterized. Data presented here allow AtPAO5 to be classified as a spermine dehydrogenase. It is also shown that AtPAO5 oxidizes the polyamines spermine, thermospermine, and N(1)-acetylspermine, the latter being the best in vitro substrate of the recombinant enzyme. AtPAO5 also oxidizes these polyamines in vivo, as was evidenced by analysis of polyamine levels in the 35S::AtPAO5-6His Arabidopsis transgenic plants, as well as in a loss-of-function atpao5 mutant. Furthermore, subcellular localization studies indicate that AtPAO5 is a cytosolic protein undergoing proteasomal control. Positive regulation of AtPAO5 expression by polyamines at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional level is also shown. These data provide new insights into the catalytic properties of the PAO gene family and the complex regulatory network controlling polyamine metabolism.

Low-molecular-weight thiols in plants: functional and analytical implications.

Low-molecular-weight (LMW) thiols are a class of highly reactive compounds massively involved in the maintenance of cellular redox homeostasis. They are implicated in plant responses to almost all stress factors, as well as in the regulation of cellular metabolism. The most studied LMW thiols are glutathione and its biosynthetically related compounds (cysteine, γ-glutamylcysteine, cysteinylglycine, and phytochelatins). Other LMW thiols are described in the literature, such as thiocysteine, cysteamine, homocysteine, lipoic acid, and many species-specific volatile thiols. Here, we review the known LMW thiols in plants, briefly describing their physico-chemical properties, their relevance in post-translational protein modification, and recently-developed thiol detection methods. Current research points to a huge thiol biodiversity in plants and many species-specific and organ-specific thiols remain to be identified. Recent advances in technology should help researchers in this very challenging task, helping us to decipher the roles of thiols in plant metabolism.