Nitric oxide (NO) is a ubiquitous signaling molecule involved in diverse physiological processes, including plant senescence and stomatal closure. The NO and cyclic GMP (cGMP) cascade is the main NO signaling pathway in animals, but whether this pathway operates in plant cells, and the mechanisms of its action, remain unclear. Here, we assessed the possibility that the nitrated cGMP derivative 8-nitro-cGMP functions in guard cell signaling. Mass spectrometry and immunocytochemical analyses showed that abscisic acid and NO induced the synthesis of 8-nitro-cGMP in guard cells in the presence of reactive oxygen species. 8-Nitro-cGMP triggered stomatal closure, but 8-bromoguanosine 39,59-cyclic monophosphate (8-bromocGMP), a membrane-permeating analog of cGMP, did not. However, in the dark, 8-bromo-cGMP induced stomatal opening but 8-nitro-cGMP did not. Thus, cGMP and its nitrated derivative play different roles in the signaling pathways that lead to stomatal opening and closure. Moreover, inhibitor and genetic studies showed that calcium, cyclic adenosine-59-diphosphate-ribose, and SLOW ANION CHANNEL1 act downstream of 8-nitro-cGMP. This study therefore demonstrates that 8-nitro-cGMP acts as a guard cell signaling molecule and that a NO/8-nitro-cGMP signaling cascade operates in guard cells.
Although nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are essential signalling molecules required for mediation of abscisic acid (ABA)-induced stomatal closure, it is not known whether these molecules also mediate the ABA inhibition of stomatal opening. In this study, we investigated the role of NO and ROS in the ABA inhibition of stomatal opening in Vicia faba. ABA induced both NO and ROS synthesis, and the NO scavenger reduced the ABA inhibition of stomatal opening. Exogenous NO and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) also inhibited stomatal opening, indicating that NO and ROS are involved in the inhibition signalling process. An inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) reversed the ABA inhibition of stomatal opening. Either the NO scavenger or the NOS inhibitor also reversed the process in the H2O2 inhibition of stomatal opening. We found that in the ABA inhibition of stomatal opening, NO is downstream of ROS in the signalling process, and NO is synthesized by a NOS-like enzyme.
Plants are exposed to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) both exogenously, as it exists as a pollutant gas in the environment, and endogenously, as it is synthesized in cells. H2S has recently been found to function as a gaseous signaling molecule, but its signaling cascade remains unknown. Here, we examined H2S-mediated guard cell signaling in Arabidopsis. The H2S donor GYY4137 (morpholin-4-ium-4-methoxyphenyl [morpholino] phosphinodithioate) induced stomatal closure, which peaked after 150 min at 1 µM or after 90 min at 10 and 100 µM. After reaching maximal closure, stomatal apertures gradually increased in size in response to further exposure to GYY4137. GYY4137 induced nitric oxide (NO) generation in guard cells, and GYY4137-induced stomatal closure was reduced by an NO scavenger and inhibitors of NO-producing enzymes. Mass spectrometry analyses showed that GYY4137 induces the synthesis of 8-nitro-cGMP and 8-mercapto-cGMP and that this synthesis is mediated by NO. In addition, 8-mercapto-cGMP triggered stomatal closure. Moreover, inhibitor and genetic studies showed that calcium, cADP ribose and slow anion channel 1 act downstream of 8-mercapto-cGMP. This study therefore demonstrates that 8-mercapto-cGMP mediates the H2S signaling cascade in guard cells.
Guard cells are indispensable for higher plants because they control gas exchange and water balance to maintain photosynthetic activity. The signaling processes that govern their movement are controlled by several factors, such as abscisic acid (ABA), blue light, pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), and carbon dioxide. Herein, we demonstrated that the amino acid glutamate (Glu), a well-known mammalian neurotransmitter, functions as a novel signaling molecule in stomatal closure in both Arabidopsis and fava bean (Vicia faba L.). Pharmacological and electrophysiological analyses provided important clues for the participation of Glu-receptors, Ca2+, and protein phosphorylation during the signaling process. Genetic analyses using Arabidopsis ABA-deficient (aba2-1) and ABA-insensitive (abi1-1 and abi2-1) mutants showed that ABA is not required for Glu signaling. However, loss-of-function of the Arabidopsis gene encoding Slow Anion Channel-Associated 1 (SLAC1) and Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinase 6 (CPK6) impaired the Glu response. Moreover, T-DNA knockout mutations of the Arabidopsis Glu receptor-like gene (GLR), GLR3.5, lost their sensitivity to Glu-dependent stomatal closure. Our results strongly support functional Glu-signaling in stomatal closure and the crucial roles of GLRs in this signaling process.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10265-015-0757-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Reactive oxygen species ( ROS ) are ubiquitous signaling molecules involved in diverse physiological processes, including stomatal closure. Photosynthetic electron transport ( PET ) is the main source of ROS generation in plants, but whether it functions in guard cell signaling remains unclear. Here, we assessed whether PET functions in abscisic acid ( ABA ) signaling in guard cells. ABA ‐elicited ROS were localized to guard cell chloroplasts in Arabidopsis thaliana , Commelina benghalensis , and Vicia faba in the light and abolished by the PET inhibitors 3‐(3, 4‐dichlorophenyl)‐1, 1‐dimethylurea and 2, 5‐dibromo‐3‐methyl‐6‐isopropyl‐ p ‐benzoquinone. These inhibitors reduced ABA ‐induced stomatal closure in all three species, as well as in the NADPH oxidase‐lacking mutant atrboh D/F . However, an NADPH oxidase inhibitor did not fully eliminate ABA ‐induced ROS in the chloroplasts, and ABA ‐induced ROS were still observed in the guard cell chloroplasts of atrboh D/F . This study demonstrates that ROS generated through PET act as signaling molecules in ABA ‐induced stomatal closure and that this occurs in concert with ROS derived through NADPH oxidase.
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