Ammonia borane positively regulates cold tolerance in Brassica napus via hydrogen sulfide signaling

BACKGROUND: Cold stress adversely influences rapeseeds (Brassica napus L.) growth and yield during winter and spring seasons. Hydrogen (H(2)) is a potential gasotransmitter that is used to enhance tolerance against abiotic stress, including cold stress. However, convenience and stability are two crucial limiting factors upon the application of H(2) in field agriculture. To explore the application of H(2) in field, here we evaluated the role of ammonia borane (AB), a new candidate for a H(2) donor produced by industrial chemical production, in plant cold tolerance. RESULTS: The application with AB could obviously alleviate the inhibition of rapeseed seedling growth and reduce the oxidative damage caused by cold stress. The above physiological process was closely related to the increased antioxidant enzyme system and reestablished redox homeostasis. Importantly, cold stress-triggered endogenous H(2)S biosynthesis was further stimulated by AB addition. The removal or inhibition of H(2)S synthesis significantly abolished plant tolerance against cold stress elicited by AB. Further field experiments demonstrated that the phenotypic and physiological performances of rapeseed plants after challenged with cold stress in the winter and early spring seasons were significantly improved by administration with AB. Particularly, the most studied cold-stress response pathway, the ICE1-CBF-COR transcriptional cascade, was significantly up-regulated either. CONCLUSION: Overall, this study clearly observed the evidence that AB-increased tolerance against cold stress could be suitable for using in field agriculture by stimulation of H(2)S signaling. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12870-022-03973-3.