Hydrogen sulfide acts downstream of jasmonic acid to inhibit stomatal development in Arabidopsis

Main conclusion: Jasmonic acid (JA) negatively regulates stomatal development by promoting LCD expression and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) biosynthesis. H2S inhibits the initiation of stomata formation and acts upstream of SPEECHLESS. Abstract: Stomatal development is strictly regulated by endogenous signals and environmental cues. We recently revealed that jasmonic acid (JA) negatively regulates stomatal development in Arabidopsis thaliana cotyledons (Han et al., Plant Physiol 176:2871-2885, 2018), but the underlying molecular mechanism remains largely unknown. Here, we uncovered a role for H2S in regulating stomatal development. The H2S scavenger hypotaurine reversed the JA-induced repression of stomatal development in the epidermis of wild-type Arabidopsis. The H2S-deficient mutant lcd displayed increased stomatal density and stomatal index values, which were rescued by treatment with sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS; an H2S donor) but not JA, suggesting that JA-mediated repression of stomatal development is dependent on H2S biosynthesis. The high stomatal density of JA-deficient mutants was rescued by exogenous NaHS treatment. Further analysis indicated that JA positively regulates LCD expression, L-cysteine desulfhydrases (L-CDes) activity, and endogenous H2S content. Furthermore, H2S represses the expression of stomate-associated genes and functions downstream of stomate-related signaling pathway components TOO MANY MOUTHS (TMM) and STOMATAL DENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION1 (SDD1) and upstream of SPEECHLESS (SPCH). Therefore, H2S acts downstream of JA signaling to regulate stomatal development in Arabidopsis cotyledons.