Future climate change will present many plants with environmental challenges, including extreme temperatures and drought. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has emerged as an important signal transmitting molecule in plants, especially important in many stress responses and it is known to regulate numerous physiological and developmental processes. Being recently suggested as a signaling molecule, research exploring the regulatory functions is continuously progressing regarding the role of H2S in plant science, agriculture and horticulture. Biosynthesis of H2S occurs in different cellular compartments from where it can freely translocate via membranes to where needed or be excluded where not required. H2S interacts with related signaling molecules which together mediate stress tolerance against a plethora of harsh conditions. The H2S induced tolerance against stresses occurs via regulation of antioxidants activities, endogenous levels of GSH, osmoregulator accumulation, cell signaling proteins, and stress-related gene expression. Overall this efficiently eliminates excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) and maintains the intracellular redox balance. The current review summarizes the recent progress on H2S or H2S donor-mediated abiotic stress tolerance with special reference to climate change and horticulture crops, pre- and post-harvest. Elucidating the role of H2S in cell signaling pathways may open new horizons towards understanding how exogenous treatments with H2S in horticulture plants may aid in the tolerance to stress, especially as environmental conditions change, and can secure better crop yields and avoid post-harvest losses.
Keywords: Antioxidants; Climate change; Hydrogen sulfide; Nitric oxide; Oxidative damage; Plant stress; Reactive oxygen species.
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