A sulfur-based signal helps plants survive salt and drought
Yang D, Huang D, Chen X, Li A, Chen H
Plant Signaling
The tomatoes ripening on your vine and the herbs surviving a dry spell on your patio are both being fine-tuned by a chemical switch scientists are only now learning to read and potentially harness for hardier varieties.
Plants make a smelly gas called hydrogen sulfide, the same one that gives rotten eggs their odor, and use it to stick sulfur tags onto proteins inside their cells. This review pulls together a decade of research showing that these tags act like tiny switches, telling the plant when to ripen fruit, open or close its pores, grow roots, and push out excess salt while holding onto potassium during drought. Scientists think that if they can learn to flip these switches on purpose, they might be able to help crops survive saltier soil and drier weather.
Key Findings
Protein persulfidation regulates ethylene, abscisic acid, auxin, and melatonin signaling pathways by modifying key enzymes, receptors, and transcription factors
The modification enhances salt and drought tolerance through a coordinated mechanism: activating plasma membrane H+-ATPase and SOS1 Na+/H+ antiporter for sodium removal while inhibiting potassium efflux channels
Six major detection methods have been developed over the past decade, including modified biotin switch assays, mass spectrometry, antibody-based western blotting, and fluorescent probing
chevron_right Technical Summary
Plants use a chemical signal called hydrogen sulfide to attach sulfur tags onto proteins, and this tagging system helps them handle salt, drought, and hormone signals more effectively. Understanding it could help scientists breed crops that survive tougher growing conditions.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Protein persulfidation in plants: a central regulator of multiple signaling pathways.
Protein persulfidation, a redox-based post-translational modification mediated by hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on cysteine thiols, plays a central regulatory role in plant growth, development, and stress...
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