Hydrogen sulphide alleviates Fusarium Head Blight in wheat seedlings

Yuanyuan Yao; Wenjie Kan; Pengfei Su; Yan Zhu; Wenling Zhong; Jinfeng Xi; Dacheng Wang; Caiguo Tang; Lifang Wu

doi:10.7717/peerj.13078

Hydrogen sulphide alleviates Fusarium Head Blight in wheat seedlings

PeerJ. 2022 Mar 7:10:e13078. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13078. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yuanyuan Yao^{1

2}, Wenjie Kan¹, Pengfei Su^{1

2}, Yan Zhu^{1

2}, Wenling Zhong^{1

2}, Jinfeng Xi^{1

2}, Dacheng Wang¹, Caiguo Tang¹, Lifang Wu^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.
² University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
³ Zhongke Taihe Experimental Station, Taihe, China.

Abstract

Hydrogen sulphide (H₂S), a crucial gas signal molecule, has been reported to be involved in various processes related to development and adversity responses in plants. However, the effects and regulatory mechanism of H₂S in controlling Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat have not been clarified. In this study, we first reported that H₂S released by low concentrations of sodium hydrosulphide (NaHS) could significantly alleviate the FHB symptoms caused by Fusarium graminearum (F. graminearum) in wheat. We also used coleoptile inoculation to investigate the related physiological and molecular mechanism. The results revealed that FHB resistance was strongly enhanced by the H₂S released by NaHS, and 0.3 mM was confirmed as the optimal concentration. H₂S treatment dramatically reduced the levels of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and malondialdehyde (MDA) while enhancing the activities of antioxidant enzymes. Meanwhile, the relative expressions levels of defence-related genes, including PR1.1, PR2, PR3, and PR4, were all dramatically upregulated. Our results also showed that H₂S was toxic to F. graminearum by inhibiting mycelial growth and spore germination. Taken together, the findings demonstrated the potential value of H₂S in mitigating the adverse effects induced by F. graminearum and advanced the current knowledge regarding the molecular mechanisms in wheat.

Keywords: Fusarium graminearum; Hydrogen sulphide; Resistance; Wheat.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Fusarium*
Hydrogen Peroxide / pharmacology
Hydrogen Sulfide* / pharmacology
Seedlings
Triticum / genetics

Substances

Hydrogen Sulfide
Hydrogen Peroxide

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Major Special Project of Anhui Province, China (No.202103a06020002) and the Grant of the President Foundation of Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China (No.YZJJ2020QN29). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.