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Abstract

Oxygen is an indispensable substrate for many biochemical reactions in plants, among which respiration is essential to produce energy. However, plants lack an active transport mechanism to distribute oxygen to all cells. Therefore, steep oxygen gradients are often generated inside many plant tissues, which can be exacerbated by environmental perturbations that further reduce oxygen availability. Plants possess various responses to cope with spatial and temporal variations in oxygen availability, many of which involve metabolic adaptations to deal with energy crises induced by low oxygen. These responses are induced gradually when oxygen concentrations decrease and are rapidly reversed upon reoxygenation. A direct effect of the oxygen level can be observed in the stability, and thus activity, of group-VII Ethylene Response Factors (ERFs) that control the expression of hypoxia-induced genes. This is mediated by an oxygen-dependent proteolysis that follows the N-end rule pathway. We recently outlined an overview of the responses to low oxygen stress in different plant taxa and identified the spread of ERF-VII and structural enzymes on the N-end rule pathway at different levels of plant complexity.

Website

http://www.plantlab.sssup.it/licausi

Contact

Benoit Van Der Rest >>>