oxygen-sensing
Oxygen-sensing refers to the molecular mechanisms by which organisms detect and respond to changes in oxygen availability in their environment. In plants, oxygen-sensing is critical for survival during flooding and waterlogging, where roots and submerged tissues face hypoxic or anoxic conditions. Understanding these signaling pathways helps researchers develop strategies to improve crop resilience to flooding stress, a growing concern under changing climate conditions.
open_in_new WikipediaPubMed · 2026-04-22
Scientists are unraveling how plants detect and survive flooding at the molecular level. When submerged, plants sense low oxygen and trigger a protein chain reaction that switches on survival genes, offering a roadmap for breeding flood-tolerant crops.
Low oxygen caused by flooding directly reduces the activity of plant cysteine oxidase (PCO), acting as the molecular trigger for the flood-response pathway
Stabilized group VII ethylene response factor (ERFVII) proteins serve as master regulators, coordinating both metabolic shifts and physical structural changes in flooded plants
The PCO–ERFVII axis represents a unified signaling mechanism linking oxygen sensing to broad acclimation responses, making it a high-value target for engineering flood resilience