Plants use gas signals to rewire proteins under stress
Corpas FJ, Taboada J, Molina-Escobar M, Palma JM
Plant Signaling
The wilting tomato plant you're babying through a heatwave is running an internal chemical relay, tagging its own proteins with gas molecules to decide what to shut down and what to keep running, and cracking that code could lead to sturdier varieties for your garden.
Plants make two simple gases, nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide, that act like molecular sticky notes on proteins inside their cells. When a plant faces drought, heat, salt, or other stress, these gases attach to specific proteins and change how they work, almost like flipping switches to reroute the plant's priorities. Scientists are mapping how these two gas systems talk to each other, which could eventually help breeders design crops that handle tough conditions better.
Key Findings
Nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide modify plant proteins through tagging reactions called tyrosine nitration, S-nitrosation, and persulfidation.
S-nitrosation and persulfidation are reversible redox-based modifications that quickly change protein activity, stability, location, and interactions.
The two gas signaling systems cross-talk extensively, forming a regulatory network that fine-tunes how plants respond to abiotic stress.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Plants use two gas molecules, nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide, to chemically tag their own proteins and rapidly adjust to stresses like drought, heat, or salt. Understanding this internal signaling could help scientists breed hardier crops.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
NO- and H2S-derived post-translational modifications and stress resilience.
Nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) have emerged as key gaseous signaling molecules in plants, playing central roles in regulating responses to a myriad of abiotic stresses. A major mechan...
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