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Spatiotemporal oxygen dynamics in young leaves reveal cyclic hypoxia in plants
Paolo M Triozzi1, Luca Brunello2, Giacomo Novi2
1PlantLab, Center of Plant Sciences, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, 56010 Pisa, Italy; Centro de Biotecnología y Genómica de Plantas, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM)-Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CSIC), Campus de Montegancedo UPM, Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223 Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
Oxygen is essential for plant growth and development. Hypoxia occurs in plants due to limited oxygen availability following adverse environmental conditions as well in hypoxic niches in otherwise normoxic environments. However, the existence and functional integration of spatiotemporal oxygen dynamics with plant development remains unknown. In animal systems dynamic fluctuations in oxygen availability are known as cyclic hypoxia. In this study, we demonstrate that cyclic fluctuations in internal oxygen levels occur in young emerging leaves of Arabidopsis plants. Cyclic hypoxia in plants is based on a mechanism requiring the ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTORS type VII (ERFVII) that are central components of the oxygen-sensing machinery in plants. The ERFVII-dependent mechanism allows precise adjustment of leaf growth in response to carbon status and oxygen availability within plant cells. This study thus establishes a functional connection between internal spatiotemporal oxygen dynamics and developmental processes of plants.
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