ESCRTs in plant abiotic stresses

The endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) is a conserved molecular machinery that plays fundamental roles in the cellular endomembrane network. Functioning as a core mechanism, ESCRTs recognize and sort ubiquitinated membrane proteins, which are subsequently sequestered into vacuoles (lysosomes in other eukaryotes) for degradation by luminal proteases or recycled from endomembranes to the plasma membrane for functional reuse. Through these processes, the ESCRT machinery acts as a critical regulator of plant development and stress adaptation. Recent studies on plant ESCRT components, particularly VPS23A and FREE1, have identified their key roles in abiotic stress responses, with a focus on their modulation of abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathways. Additionally, post-translational modifications including ubiquitination and phosphorylation have been shown to play pivotal roles in these regulatory processes. Notably, FREE1 has been identified to mediate endosome membrane bending and scission independently of the ESCRT machinery, a mechanism crucial for plant responses to osmotic stress. This review summarizes and discusses recent advances in ESCRT-mediated signaling in plant abiotic stress responses, aiming to highlight the fundamental roles of ESCRTs in plant biology and provide key targets for molecular breeding of abiotic stress-tolerant crops.