Dooley, F.Nair, S.Ward, P.Rutherford, S.2014-11-202014-11-202013PLoS ONE, 2013; 8(4):e62048-1-e62048-51932-62031932-6203http://hdl.handle.net/2440/87396This study presents a novel way of enhancing plant growth through the use of a non-petroleum based product. We report here that exposing either roots or seeds of multicellular plants to extremely low concentrations of dissolved hydrogen sulfide at any stage of life causes statistically significant increases in biomass including higher fruit yield. Individual cells in treated plants were smaller (~13%) than those of controls. Germination success and seedling size increased in, bean, corn, wheat, and pea seeds while time to germination decreases. These findings indicated an important role of H2S as a signaling molecule that can increase the growth rate of all species yet tested. The increased crop yields reported here has the potential to effect the world's agricultural output.en© 2013 Dooley et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.PlantsPhaseolusTriticumZea maysFruitPlant LeavesHydrogen SulfideSoilGerminationPhotosynthesisTime FactorsPlant DevelopmentPisum sativumJournal article003001486910.1371/journal.pone.00620480003179072001172-s2.0-84876208451154426