A methane–cGMP module positively influences adventitious rooting

Key message Endogenous cGMP operates downstream of CH 4 control of adventitious rooting, following by the regulation in the expression of cell cycle regulatory and auxin signaling-related genes. Abstract Methane (CH 4 ) is a natural product from plants and microorganisms. Although exogenously applied CH 4 and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) are separately confirmed to be involved in the control of adventitious root (AR) formation, the possible interaction still remains elusive. Here, we observed that exogenous CH 4 not only rapidly promoted cGMP synthesis through increasing the activity of guanosine cyclase (GC), but also induced cucumber AR development. These responses were obviously impaired by the removal of endogenous cGMP with two GC inhibitors. Anatomical evidence showed that the emerged stage (V) among AR primordia development might be the main target of CH 4 –cGMP module. Genetic evidence revealed that the transgenic Arabidopsis that overexpressed the methyl-coenzyme M reductase gene ( MtMCR ) from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum not only increased-cGMP production, but also resulted in a pronounced AR development compared to wild-type (WT), especially with the addition of CH 4 or the cell-permeable cGMP derivative 8-Br-cGMP. qPCR analysis confirmed that some marker genes associated with cell cycle regulatory and auxin signaling were closely related to the brand-new CH 4 –cGMP module in AR development. Overall, our results clearly revealed an important function of cGMP in CH 4 governing AR formation by modulating auxin-dependent pathway and cell cycle regulation.