Hydrogen sulfide(H2S) regulates plant root growth.In order to further understand the correlation between H2S regulation of plant taproot growth and epigenetic regulation,we treated Arabidopsis thaliana and wheat with different concentrations of exogenous NaHS(H2S donor).The effects of H2S on root length,histone deacetylases(HDACs) activity and related gene expression were investigated.The results showed that exogenous H2S treatment could inhibit the growth of taproots,induce the activity of HDACs and regulate the expression of HDACs gene in Arabidopsis and wheat.In Arabidopsis thaliana,the expressions of AtHDA2,AtHDA7,AtHDA8 and AtHDA14 were inhibited by 50 μmol/L NaHS treatment,and the expressions of AtHDA5,AtHDA6,AtHDA19 and AtSRT1 were specifically induced by 150 μmol/L NaHS treatment. However,NaHS treatment had no significant effect on the expression of AtHDT1,AtHDT2,AtHDT3 and AtHDT4.In wheat,TaHDA9 and TaHDA19 were significantly induced by 100 μmol/L NaHS,and TaHDA20 was significantly up‑regulated by 200 μmol/L NaHS.However,TaHDA2,TaHDA6,TaHDA8,TaHDA18,TaSRT2,TaHDT1 and TaHDT2 were significantly down‑regulated under 100 and 200 μmol/L NaHS treatments.The expressions of TaHDA14 and TaHDT3 were inhibited by 50—400 μmol/L of NaHS.It was noteworthy that the expression of HDA2 in the HDACs family decreased first and then increased with the increase of H2S concentration,and the expression of HDA19 increased first and then decreased with the increase of H2S concentration in Arabidopsis and wheat.In conclusion,H2S may mediate plant root growth by regulating the expression of HDACs genes.