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EXECUTER-mediated singlet oxygen signaling in plants: Mechanisms, evolution, and functional diversification
Kaiwei Liu1, Wangpin Wu2, Chanhong Kim3
1State Key Laboratory of Plant Trait Design, Shanghai Center for Plant Stress Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
Plant Communications
|June 24, 2026
Summary
Singlet oxygen (1O2) acts as both a damaging agent and a signaling molecule in plants. The EXECUTER (EX) proteins, EX1 and EX2, are key to this signaling, with evolutionary roots tracing back to green algae.
Area of Science:
- Plant molecular biology
- Photosynthesis research
- Reactive oxygen species signaling
Background:
- Singlet oxygen (1O2) is a chloroplast-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) with dual roles as an oxidant and signaling molecule.
- The EXECUTER (EX) protein family (EX1 and EX2) is crucial for 1O2-triggered retrograde signaling in *Arabidopsis thaliana*.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current understanding of EX-mediated 1O2 signaling.
- To explore the evolutionary history of EX proteins across the plant kingdom.
- To discuss potential applications in engineering plant stress tolerance and growth.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on EX proteins and 1O2 signaling.
- Analysis of comparative genomics data for EX-like proteins.
- Integration of mechanistic insights into protein turnover and function.
Main Results:
- EX1 undergoes post-translational oxidation and proteolytic turnover, generating peptides that interact with translocons.
- EX1 has roles in darkness, modulating auxin-responsive genes.
- The EX protein architecture evolved from early green algae, with diversification across plant lineages.
Conclusions:
- A unified model for EX-mediated 1O2 sensing is proposed.
- Understanding EX1/EX2 dynamics offers avenues for improving crop stress tolerance and growth.
- Further research is needed to address key unresolved questions in EX-mediated signaling.
Keywords:
EXECUTERROSTOC/TIC transloconsauxinchloroplastretrograde signalingsalicylic acidsinglet oxygenMore Related Videos
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