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Sensing endoplasmic reticulum redox state by ethylene receptors
Dongdong Hao1, Zhina Xiao1, Wei Yan1
1New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Plant Genetic Engineering and Molecular Design, Institute of Plant and Food Science, Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518055, China.
Cell
|April 29, 2026
Summary
Ethylene receptors sense endoplasmic reticulum (ER) redox state through disulfide bonds. ER reductive stress, not ethylene, triggers receptor dimerization changes, impacting plant signaling and resilience.
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Molecular signaling
- Organelle homeostasis
Background:
- Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) redox homeostasis is vital for cell function and implicated in human diseases.
- Ethylene signaling in plants is initiated at the ER, but its connection to ER redox is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate the role of ER redox state in ethylene receptor function.
- Determine how ER redox influences plant responses to environmental cues.
Main Methods:
- Biochemical assays to analyze receptor dimerization.
- Genetic manipulation of ER redox state and ethylene receptors.
- Phenotypic analysis of plant responses under hypoxia and photomorphogenesis.
Main Results:
- Ethylene receptors directly sense ER redox state via lumenal disulfide bonds.
- ER reductive stress disrupts receptor dimers, repressing function and activating ethylene signaling.
- Modulating receptor disulfide bonds enhances plant resilience to hypoxia and photomorphogenesis.
Conclusions:
- ER redox sensing is an integral part of ethylene receptor function.
- This mechanism links organelle homeostasis to hormone signaling pathways.
- ER redox sensing may represent an ancestral receptor function predating ethylene biosynthesis.
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