Regulatory roles of methane in plants

• Published in: Scientia horticulturae 2020-10, Vol.272, p.109492, Article 109492
• Main Authors: Wang, Ni, Huang, Dengjing, Li, Changxia, Deng, Yuzheng, Li, Weifang, Yao, Yandong, Liao, Weibiao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abiotic stress; Biosynthesis; Gene expression; Growth and development; Methane
• ISSN: 0304-4238; 1879-1018
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scienta.2020.109492

[Display omitted] •Four synthetic pathways of CH4 were identified in plants.•CH4 is involved in plant growth and development.•CH4 plays an important role in plant abiotic stress response.•CH4 may interact with other signaling molecules.•CH4 regulates the expression of some genes. Methane (CH4), a tetrahedral molecule, has been shown to be a signaling molecule in animals and plants. Here, the synthesis of CH4 was introduced, and 4 pathways of CH4 production in plants were summarized. Many studies show that CH4 might be involved in plant growth and development, including seed germination, seedling growth, lateral rooting, adventitious rooting and postharvest freshness. CH4 also plays an important role in plant response to abiotic stresses, such as salt stress, osmotic stress and heavy metal stress. For example, CH4 could generally enhance the abiotic stress resistance of plants by enhancing the antioxidant defense system. In addition, CH4 displays crosstalk with other signal molecules, including nitric oxide (NO), Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), Carbon monoxide (CO), calcium (Ca2+), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and auxin. CH4 also regulates the expression of response genes under abiotic stress and in lateral and adventitious root formation. In the future studies, more attention should be paid to the synthesis molecular mechanism of CH4 in plants and its crosstalk with phytohormone.