PCO-ERFVII: a hub coordinating flooding and post-flood stress

Climate change intensification drives increased flood frequency, posing a severe threat to crop yield stability and long-term productivity enhancement; thus, the development of flood-resilient crop varieties is urgently needed1. During flooding, plants experience a triphasic oxygen transition, normoxia–hypoxia–reoxygenation, driving tightly regulated, stage-specific fluctuations in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Sustaining ROS homeostasis within a narrow physiological threshold window is critical for normal growth and development, disruption of this balance, whether through excessive accumulation or insufficient generation, compromises redox signaling fidelity and triggers developmental defects and cellular damage.