NADPH Oxidase Coordinating With ROS Regulation: A Biochemical Footprinting in Plant Development

Plants are highly susceptible to deterioration caused by unsuitable storage conditions, pathogen infection, endogenous hormones, and other factors, leading to horticultural aging and senescence. These processes negatively impact nutritional quality and reduce marketability. Given the critical role of reactive oxygen species mediated by NADPH oxidase (RBOHs), precise regulation of RBOH activity and expression is essential for maintaining the metabolic pathways associated with natural ripening and promoting plant development. RBOHs play a pivotal role in plant responses to external stimuli by modulating ROS homeostasis and coordinating diverse metabolic pathways essential for physiological processes. This review provides a systematic overview of RBOHs, focusing on their enzyme activity, ROS-generating mechanisms, and their critical role in maintaining intracellular ROS balance. Furthermore, we elucidate the activation mechanisms of RBOH proteins, including regulation by Ca²⁺ signaling, MAPK cascades, RLKs, Rac/Rop GTPases, and other key factors. Special emphasis is placed on the implications of RBOHs in the development of horticultural products, particularly their regulatory roles in mitigating chilling injury, enhancing disease resistance, and influencing nutrient metabolism. The activities of RBOHs and their upstream regulatory molecules play a crucial role in modulating quality attributes, chilling tolerance, and pathogen defense in horticultural products. Future research should prioritize leveraging gene-editing technologies and exogenous regulatory factors to precisely manipulate RBOH function, thereby facilitating the development of more effective and sustainable strategies for horticultural commodities.