Chapter 14 - Crosstalk of hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide with other plant growth regulators in plant defense, growth, and development

Abstract

Plants are usually encountered diverse stressors like intense temperature, water shortages, flooding, and salinity. These stressors ultimately result in physiological disturbances, enzyme inactivation, and changes in cellular redox homeostasis. These in turn hamper plant survival as well as crop productivity. However, plants have been found to evolve a variety of adaptation/defensive mechanisms like the formation of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and carbon monoxide (CO) to cope with up aforementioned stressors. The phytofabrication of H2S and CO as endogenous gaseous signaling molecules and their crosstalk with other plant growth regulators including auxin, cytokinins, abscisic acid, and gibberellins and so on trigger a diversified variety of physiological functions in the plant. For instance, H2S and CO have been found to play a vital role in growth and development together with photosynthesis, stomatal movement, root development, and so on. These signaling molecules are also involved in antioxidant defense in which their synergistic interactions with other phytohormones are most promising and effective against a variety of stressors. This chapter provides a current overview of H2S and CO roles as signaling molecules in plants, as well as their interactions with other growth regulators.