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Signaling molecule methylglyoxal-induced thermotolerance is partly mediated by hydrogen sulfide in maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings

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Abstract

Methylglyoxal (MG) was traditionally viewed as toxic by-product of glycolysis and photosynthesis in plants, but now is emerging as a signaling molecule, which, similar to hydrogen sulfide (H2S), participates in regulating seed germination, growth, development, and response to abiotic stress. However, whether exists an mutual effect between MG and H2S in improving thermotolerance in plants is not found to be reported. In this paper, interplay between MG and H2S in the formation of thermotolerance in maize seedlings was investigated. The results indicated that MG pretreatment elevated the survival percentage of maize seedlings under high-temperature stress, manifesting that MG could boost the thermotolerance of maize seedlings. Interestingly, MG-induced thermotolerance was reinforced by sodium hydrosulphide (NaHS, H2S donor), while impaired by dl-propargylglycine (inhibitor of H2S biosynthesis) and hypotaurine (scavenger of H2S), respectively. In addition, H2S could induce the thermotolerance of maize seedlings, which was impaired by aminoguanidine (AG) and N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) (MG scavengers), respectively. Furthermore, MG stimulated the activity of a key enzyme in H2S biosynthesis, l-cysteine desulfhydrase, which, in turn, triggered the elevation of endogenous H2S in maize seedlings. In addition, H2S increased the level of endogenous MG; this increase was crippled by AG and NAC. This paper, for the first time, reported that MG could improve the thermotolerance of maize seedlings, and its acquisition was, at least partly, mediated by H2S.

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Abbreviations

ABA:

Abscisic acid

AG:

Aminoguanidine

AGEs:

Advanced glycation end products

AKR:

Aldo–keto reductase

ALD:

Aldehyde dehydrogenase

ALR:

Aldose/aldehyde reductase

BADH:

Betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase

CO:

Carbon monoxide

CS:

Cysteine synthase

DHAP:

Dihydroxyacetone phosphate

DW:

Dry weight

FW:

Fresh weight

Gly I:

Glyoxalase I

Gly II:

Glyoxalase II

Gly III:

Glyoxalase III

G3P:

Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate

GSH:

Glutathione

HSP:

Heat shock protein

H2S:

Hydrogen sulfide

HT:

Hypotaurine

LCD:

l-Cysteine desulfhydrase

MG:

Methylglyoxal

MGDH:

MG dehydrogenase

MGR:

MG reductase

NAC:

N-Acetyl-l-cysteine

NO:

Nitric oxide

PAG:

dl-Propargylglycine

P5CS:

Δ1-Pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SA:

Salicylic acid

TPI:

Triosephosphate isomerase

TPP:

Trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31760069, 31360057).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, 650500, People’s Republic of China

    Zhong-Guang Li, Wei-Biao Long, Shi-Zhong Yang, Yang-Cai Wang & Ji-Hong Tang

  2. Engineering Research Center of Sustainable Development and Utilization of Biomass Energy, Ministry of Education, Kunming, 650500, People’s Republic of China

    Zhong-Guang Li, Wei-Biao Long, Shi-Zhong Yang, Yang-Cai Wang & Ji-Hong Tang

  3. Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Environmental Biotechnology, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, 650500, Yunnan, People’s Republic of China

    Zhong-Guang Li, Wei-Biao Long, Shi-Zhong Yang, Yang-Cai Wang & Ji-Hong Tang

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  1. Zhong-Guang Li
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  2. Wei-Biao Long
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Correspondence to Zhong-Guang Li.

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Communicated by R. Baczek-Kwinta.

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Li, ZG., Long, WB., Yang, SZ. et al. Signaling molecule methylglyoxal-induced thermotolerance is partly mediated by hydrogen sulfide in maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings. Acta Physiol Plant 40, 76 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-018-2653-4

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