Low-oxygen response is triggered by an ATP-dependent shift in oleoyl-CoA in Arabidopsis

Significance To control adaptive responses to the ever-changing environment that plants are continuously exposed to, plant cells must integrate a multitude of information to make optimal decisions. Here, we reveal how plants can link information about the cellular energy status with the actual oxygen concentration of the cell to trigger a response reaction to low-oxygen stress. We reveal that oleoyl-CoA has a moonlighting function in an energy (ATP)-dependent signal transduction pathway in plants, and we provide a model that explains how diminishing oxygen availability can initiate adaptive responses when it coincides with a decreased energy status of the cell.
Plant response to environmental stimuli involves integration of multiple signals. Upon low-oxygen stress, plants initiate a set of adaptive responses to circumvent an energy crisis. Here, we reveal how these stress responses are induced by combining (i) energy-dependent changes in the composition of the acyl-CoA pool and (ii) the cellular oxygen concentration. A hypoxia-induced decline of cellular ATP levels reduces LONG-CHAIN ACYL-COA SYNTHETASE activity, which leads to a shift in the composition of the acyl-CoA pool. Subsequently, we show that different acyl-CoAs induce unique molecular responses. Altogether, our data disclose a role for acyl-CoAs acting in a cellular signaling pathway in plants. Upon hypoxia, high oleoyl-CoA levels provide the initial trigger to release the transcription factor RAP2.12 from its interaction partner ACYL-COA BINDING PROTEIN at the plasma membrane. Subsequently, according to the N-end rule for proteasomal degradation, oxygen concentration-dependent stabilization of the subgroup VII ETHYLENE-RESPONSE FACTOR transcription factor RAP2.12 determines the level of hypoxia-specific gene expression. This research unveils a specific mechanism activating low-oxygen stress responses only when a decrease in the oxygen concentration coincides with a drop in energy.