H₂S promotes flowering in Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis by persulfidation of the splicing factor BraATO2

Abstract

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) is a newly identified gasotransmitter that plays an irreplaceable physiological role in plant growth, development, and environmental responses through persulfidation of cysteine (Cys) residues (RSSH). However, reports on the direct RSSH targets of H₂S in plants remain limited. The flowering regulation mechanisms of Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis are a significant scientific issue in the crop production industry; however, they remain poorly understood. BraATO2 is an important splicing factor in genetic alternative splicing (AS). Our study demonstrated that H₂S regulated BraATO2 function by persulfidating the Cys residue at position 416. In turn, this influenced the AS patterns of multiple genes in B. rapa, specifically the flowering regulator BraAGL31/MAF2 within the FLOWERING LOCUS C-like (FLC-like) gene family, causing accelerated flowering. This study identified a new direct target of H₂S and uncovered a novel pathway influencing flowering in B. rapa. Furthermore, the study findings provide fresh insights into the development of innovative flowering regulators for plants.

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32372727 to Y.P. and 32172550 to Z.J.), the Shanxi Province Natural Science Foundation (202403021212063 to H.C. and 202303021211018 to L.Z.) and open funds of the State Key Laboratory of Plant Environmental Resilience (SKLPERKF2507 to L.C.). The authors would like to thank Enago (www.enago.com) for the English language review.

Author contributions

Y.P. and Z.J. designed the research. W.L., F.T., H.C., T.M., J.Z., and X.H. performed the experiments and analyzed the data. X.H. and H.C. prepared the graphs and tables. X.H., L.Z., L.C., Z.J., and Y.P. drafted, edited, and revised the manuscript. Y.P. and Z.J. approved the final manuscript for submission.

Data availability

All relevant data can be found in the manuscript and supplementary materials.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Supplementary data

Supplementary data is available at Horticulture Research online.

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