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Endogenous hydrogen sulfide regulated by calcium is involved in thermotolerance in tobacco Nicotiana tabacum L. suspension cell cultures

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Abstract

Calcium (Ca2+)/calmodulin (CaM), a core component of calcium messenger system, is a multiple second messenger that is involved in multiple stress tolerance including heat tolerance in plants, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is fast emerging similar functions, but Ca2+ and H2S crosstalk in the acquisition of thermotolerance is not completely understood. In this article, Ca2+ and CaM activated the activity of cysteine desulfhydrase (L-DES), followed by inducing endogenous H2S accumulation in tobacco suspension cultured cells, while treatment with Ca2+ chelator ethylene glycol-bis(b-aminoethylether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid and CaM antagonists chlorpromazine lowered L-DES activity and H2S accumulation. Interestingly, Ca2+- and CaM-activated L-DES activity and endogenous H2S accumulation were eliminated by H2S synthesis inhibitors DL-propargylglycine (PAG), aminooxy acetic acid (AOA), potassium pyruvate (PP) and hydroxylamine (HA), and the H2S scavenger hypotaurine (HT), indicating that Ca2+ and CaM regulated endogenous H2S generation via activating L-DES activity in tobacco cells. Furthermore, H2S donor NaHS, Ca2+ and CaM treatment alone significantly improved the thermotolerance of tobacco cells, and heat tolerance induced by Ca2+ and CaM was enhanced by exogenous NaHS, while weakened by PAG, AOA, PP, HA or HT. All above-mentioned results suggest that endogenous H2S generated by L-DES was involved, at least partly, in the thermotolerance induced by Ca2+ and CaM in tobacco suspension cell cultures.

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Abbreviations

AOA:

Aminooxy acetic acid

CaM:

Calmodulin

CPZ:

Chlorpromazine

CS:

Cysteine synthase

L-DES:

L-cysteine desulfhydrase

ECS:

Extracellular calcium stores

EGTA:

Ethylene glycol-bis(b-aminoethylether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid

HA:

Hydroxylamine

H2S:

Hydrogen sulfide

HT:

Hypotaurine

ICS:

Intracellular calcium stores

NaHS:

Sodium hydrosulfide

PAG:

DL-propargylglycine

PP:

Potassium pyruvate

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31360057 to Zhong-Guang Li).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, 650092, People’s Republic of China

    Zhong-Guang Li, Wei-Biao Long, Shi-Zhong Yang, Yang-Cai Wang, Ji-Hong Tang, Ling Wen, Bing-Yu Zhu & Xiong Min

  2. Engineering Research Center of Sustainable Development and Utilization of Biomass Energy, Ministry of Education, Kunming, 650092, People’s Republic of China

    Zhong-Guang Li, Wei-Biao Long, Shi-Zhong Yang, Yang-Cai Wang, Ji-Hong Tang, Ling Wen, Bing-Yu Zhu & Xiong Min

  3. Key Laboratory of Biomass Energy and Environmental Biotechnology, Yunnan Province, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, 650092, People’s Republic of China

    Zhong-Guang Li, Wei-Biao Long, Shi-Zhong Yang, Yang-Cai Wang, Ji-Hong Tang, Ling Wen, Bing-Yu Zhu & Xiong Min

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  1. Zhong-Guang Li
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Correspondence to Zhong-Guang Li.

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Communicated by H. Li.

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Li, ZG., Long, WB., Yang, SZ. et al. Endogenous hydrogen sulfide regulated by calcium is involved in thermotolerance in tobacco Nicotiana tabacum L. suspension cell cultures. Acta Physiol Plant 37, 219 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-015-1971-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-015-1971-z

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