Sodium hydrosulfide induces systemic thermotolerance to strawberry plants through transcriptional regulation of heat shock proteins and aquaporin

Anastasis Christou,Vasileios Fotopoulos,Panagiota Filippou,George A Manganaris

doi:10.1186/1471-2229-14-42

Anastasis Christou, Vasileios Fotopoulos + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2229-14-42

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Abstract

BackgroundTemperature extremes represent an important limiting factor to plant growth and productivity. The present study evaluated the effect of hydroponic pretreatment of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa cv. ‘Camarosa’) roots with an H2S donor, sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS; 100 μM for 48 h), on the response of plants to acute heat shock treatment (42°C, 8 h).ResultsHeat stress-induced phenotypic damage was ameliorated in NaHS-pretreated plants, which managed to preserve higher maximum photochemical PSII quantum yields than stressed plants. Apparent mitigating effects of H2S pretreatment were registered regarding oxidative and nitrosative secondary stress, since malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2 and nitric oxide (NO) were quantified in lower amounts than in heat-stressed plants. In addition, NaHS pretreatment preserved ascorbate/glutathione homeostasis, as evidenced by lower ASC and GSH pool redox disturbances and enhanced transcription of ASC (GDH) and GSH biosynthetic enzymes (GS, GCS), 8 h after heat stress imposition. Furthermore, NaHS root pretreatment resulted in induction of gene expression levels of an array of protective molecules, such as enzymatic antioxidants (cAPX, CAT, MnSOD, GR), heat shock proteins (HSP70, HSP80, HSP90) and aquaporins (PIP).ConclusionOverall, we propose that H2S root pretreatment activates a coordinated network of heat shock defense-related pathways at a transcriptional level and systemically protects strawberry plants from heat shock-induced damage.

Highlights

Temperature extremes represent an important limiting factor to plant growth and productivity
Phenotypic observations Exposure of strawberry plants to 42°C for 8 h resulted in mild wilting and leaf curling (Figure 1C), while Sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) root pretreatment prior to stress exposure exhibited obvious mitigating effect, as evidenced by the conservation of plant leaf turgor and structure (Figure 1D)
Hydrogen sulfide content Sodium hydrosulfide root pretreatment resulted in significantly higher absolute H2S content in strawberry leaves compared with control samples, verifying its status as an H2S donor

Summary

Introduction

Temperature extremes represent an important limiting factor to plant growth and productivity. Plants exposed to high temperatures may experience severe cellular injury that may lead to cell death within a short period [2]. The primary targets of heat shock injury in plants are photosynthesis [3], water status [4], carbon assimilation processes [5] and membrane stability [6]. Heat stress results to protein denaturation and aggregation, increased. The initial heat stress signal, probably perceived as the increase of plasmalemma lipid bilayer fluidity [8], triggers downstream signaling processes for transcriptional regulation [9]. Up-regulation of mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) transduction pathway through the induction of Ca2+ influx [10], ROS signaling and hormonal activation, as well as heat shock protein (HSP)/

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