Foliar dewdroplet–induced redox cascades promote early flowering in Brassicaceae plants
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Atmospheric water inputs such as dew are often overlooked in plant biology. We show that foliar dewdrops act as biochemical microreactors that trigger flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana , a small plant from the mustard family ( Brassicaceae ). These droplets generate reactive oxygen species that induce intracellular nitric oxide accumulation, initiating a redox cascade that suppresses the biosynthesis of abscisic acid, which contributes to the regulation of flowering time. This occurs via S-nitrosylation-mediated activation of histone deacetylase 19, which silences AAO3 and ABA2 . Analysis of over 12 million field records across the Brassicaceae family reveals a global correlation between dew point temperature and flowering time. These findings identify dewdrop chemistry as an unrecognized environmental cue that regulates developmental timing in plants.
Institutions: Jianghan University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Huazhong Agricultural University, Université Paris-Saclay, Institut des Sciences des Plantes de Paris Saclay, Université de Perpignan, Laboratoire Génome et Développement des Plantes, Stanford University
Language: English
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7129540785