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

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.