Hydrogen Sulfide Alleviates Aluminum Toxicity in Germinating Wheat Seedlings

• Published in: Journal of integrative plant biology Vol. 52; no. 6; pp. 556 - 567
• Main Authors: Zhang, Hua, Tan, Zhu-Qin, Hu, Lan-Ying, Wang, Song-Hua, Luo, Jian-Ping, Jones, Russell L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melbourne, Australia Melbourne, Australia : Blackwell Publishing Asia 01-06-2010; Blackwell Publishing Asia; Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA%School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China%Life Science College, Anhui Science and Technology University, Bengbu 233100, China%Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China
• Subjects: Aluminum - toxicity; Antioxidants - metabolism; Ascorbate Peroxidases; Catalase - metabolism; Enzyme Activation - drug effects; Germination; Hydrogen Peroxide - metabolism; Hydrogen Sulfide - pharmacology; Malondialdehyde - metabolism; Peroxidase - metabolism; Peroxidases - metabolism; Seedlings - drug effects; Seedlings - growth & development; Seedlings - metabolism; Sulfides - pharmacology; Superoxide Dismutase - metabolism; Triticum; Triticum - drug effects; Triticum - growth & development; Triticum - metabolism; Triticum aestivum; 小麦幼苗; 抗坏血酸过氧化物酶; 硫化氢; 硫氢化钠; 种子发芽; 种子萌发; 超氧化物歧化酶
• ISSN: 1672-9072; 1744-7909
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7909.2010.00946.x

Protective role of hydrogen sulfide （H2S） on seed germination and seedling growth was studied in wheat （Triticum） seeds subjected to aluminum （Al3＋） stress. We show that germination and seedling growth of wheat is inhibited by high concentrations of AICI3. At 30 mmol/L AICI3 germination is reduced by about 50% and seedling growth is more dramatically inhibited by this treatment. Pre-incubation of wheat seeds in the H2S donor NaHS alleviates AICI3-induced stress in a dose-dependant manner at an optimal concentration of 0.3 mmol/L. We verified that the role of NaHS in alleviating Al3＋ stress could be attributed to H2S/HS- by showing that the level of endogenous H2S increased following NaHS treatment. Furthermore, other sodium salts containing sulfur were ineffective in alleviating Al3＋ stress. NaHS pretreatment significantly increased the activities of amylases and esterases and sustained much lower levels of MDA and H2O2 in germinating seeds under Al3＋ stress. Moreover, NaHS pretreatment increased the activities of guaiacol peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and catalase and decreased that of lipoxygenase. NaHS pretreatment also decreased the uptake of Al3＋ in AICI3-treated seed. Taken together these results suggest that H2S could increase antioxidant capability in wheat seeds leading to the alleviation of Al3＋ stress.