Structures of Arabidopsis thaliana oxygen-sensing plant cysteine oxidases 4 and 5 enable targeted manipulation of their activity.

ABSTRACT: In higher plants, molecular responses to exogenous hypoxia are driven by group VII ethylene response factors (ERF-VIIs). These transcriptional regulators accumulate in the nucleus under hypoxia to activate anaerobic genes but are destabilized in normoxic conditions through the action of oxygen-sensing plant cysteine oxidases (PCOs). The PCOs catalyze the reaction of oxygen with the conserved N-terminal cysteine of ERF-VIIs to form cysteine sulfinic acid, triggering degradation via the Cys/Arg branch of the N-degron pathway. The PCOs are therefore a vital component of the plant oxygen signaling system, connecting environmental stimulus with cellular and physiological response. Rational manipulation of PCO activity could regulate ERF-VII levels and improve flood tolerance, but requires detai

SUBMITTER: White MD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7502726 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature