Recent advances in the mechanism, transduction, and function of oxygen sensing in plants.

Oxygen sensing in plants is regulated by oxygen-dependent proteolysis via the PLANT CYSTEINE OXIDASE (PCO) N-degron pathway, linking low-oxygen signals to growth and development.

• Why it matters: Plants must adapt to reduced ambient oxygen in natural and farmed settings, yet the mechanisms connecting oxygen sensing to downstream developmental and environmental responses remain to be integrated.
• What they did: This update synthesizes recent methodological and mechanistic advances, emphasizing hypoxia-regulated processes in root development and cyclic hypoxia’s role in leaf development.
• The result: The work consolidates evidence that oxygen sensing is conserved across eukaryotes and evolved early in land plants, while multiple pathway components are under natural selection tied to ambient oxygen conditions.

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