Themed Issue for Celebrating 20 Years of the Concept of Reactive Sulfur Species (RSS)

Dear Colleagues, 

Today, the concept of Reactive Sulfur Species (RSS) is firmly established. Despite being a generic term, RSS is employed, and widely cherished, by biochemists, biologists, natural product researchers, and physiologists alike as a means of explaining many intracellular redox processes. On occasion, insight into RSS biology can also inform the development and use of innovative drug molecules and nutraceuticals.

It therefore seems surprising that the concept of RSS itself is only 20 years old—a lot younger than its redox counterparts Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and Reactive Nitrogen Species (RNS), which have their origins in the 1980s and early 1990s. Indeed, before the turn of the millennium, biological sulfur species had long been considered to solely consist of thiols and disulfides, passive reducing agents that played a sacrificial role in redox processes.

Interest in sulfur really began in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when researchers began to look beyond the thiol:disulfide redox couple and found new and exciting redox species, such as sulfenic and sulfinic acids, which had unprecedented biological activities. Over time, these RSS have come to the fore, with new discoveries constantly underlining the importance of redox active sulfur in biology. To pick just a few highlights, examples now range from the antioxidant defenses provided by highly reducing thiols through to redox sensing and control via the cellular thiolstat, and from catalysis in enzymes such as the peroxiredoxins (Prdx) to the antimicrobial actions associated with the ingredients of natural products, for instance, the thiosulfinate allicin found in garlic.

Twenty years on, the birthday of RSS provides us with a welcome opportunity to invite authors to contribute toward a Special Issue covering these different aspects of RSS, from their isolation in plants and fungi through to their biochemical, physiological, and pathological actions. In doing so, we hope to bring together the many different strands of research in this field and provide a forum for fruitful exchange and discussion. Possibly, together we will be able to derive a modern definition of the concept of RSS, and the Special Issue also provides a timely opportunity to revisit original discoveries in sulfur’s redox action, reflect upon what has been learnt, and set the scene for future investigations. We hope that you will join us!

Prof. Dr. Claus Jacob
Dr. Gregory Giles
Guest Editors

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