The secret of H2S to keep plants young and fresh and its products

• Published in: Plant biology (Stuttgart, Germany) Vol. 24; no. 4; pp. 587 - 593
• Main Authors: Liu, D., Pei, Y., Siddiqui, M.H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.06.2022
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Agricultural products; Biological activity; Farms; Harvesting; Hydrogen sulfide; Hydrogen sulphide; persulfidation; Plant growth; postharvest decay; reactive oxidative species; Reactive oxygen species; Ripening; Senescence
• ISSN: 1435-8603; 1438-8677
• DOI: 10.1111/plb.13377

Recently, accumulating evidence has shown that hydrogen sulphide (H2S), a newly determined gasotransmitter, plays important roles in senescence, which is an essential biological process for plant fitness and an important agricultural trait that is critical for the yield and quality of farm produce. Here, in this review, we summarize the roles of H2S in senescence, both before and after the harvesting of agricultural products, and the underlying mechanism is also discussed. During the plant growth process, the function of H2S in the leaf senescence process has been studied extensively, and H2S plays roles during the whole process, including the initiation, reorganization and terminal stages. While during the postharvest stage, H2S can prevents farm products from deterioration resulting from over‐ripening, pathogen attack and incorrect storage. The underlying H2S‐related mechanisms during different stages of the senescence process are summarized and compared. The most prominent interaction occurs between H2S and reactive oxygen species, and the molecular mechanism is explored. Additionally, the conserved action mode of H2S in different life processes and different species is also discussed. In the future, multi‐omics analyses over time will be needed to investigate the detailed mechanisms of H2S, and a safety attribute analysis of H2S is also required before it can be used in agricultural production. Hydrogen sulfide affects the senescence processes during both developmental and postharvest stages through similar mechanisms, especially its interactions with the reactive oxidative species, behind which the persulfidation of proteins represents the main action mode.