The ESCRT Component FYVE4 Modulates Salt Stress Response by Strengthening the SOS1-SOS2 Interaction in Arabidopsis

Chuanliang Liu; Xinyi Lin; Min Xu; Zhao Zheng; Zhenghao Wang; Xin Huang; Feihua Wu; Guoyong Liu; Weijie Liu; Changlian Peng; Yan Guo; Yixiong Zheng; Caiji Gao; Wenjin Shen; Hongbo Li

doi:10.1016/j.xplc.2025.101428

The ESCRT Component FYVE4 Modulates Salt Stress Response by Strengthening the SOS1-SOS2 Interaction in Arabidopsis

Plant Commun. 2025 Jun 24:101428. doi: 10.1016/j.xplc.2025.101428. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Chuanliang Liu¹, Xinyi Lin¹, Min Xu¹, Zhao Zheng¹, Zhenghao Wang², Xin Huang², Feihua Wu², Guoyong Liu³, Weijie Liu¹, Changlian Peng¹, Yan Guo³, Yixiong Zheng⁴, Caiji Gao¹, Wenjin Shen⁵, Hongbo Li⁶

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biotechnology for Plant Development, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
² International Research Center for Environmental Membrane Biology and Department of Horticulture, Foshan University, Foshan 528000, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Green Prevention and Control on Fruits and Vegetables in South China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangzhou 510225, China.
⁵ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biotechnology for Plant Development, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China. Electronic address: shenwenjin@m.scnu.edu.cn.
⁶ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Biotechnology for Plant Development, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China. Electronic address: hongboli@m.scnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 40566682
DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2025.101428

Abstract

The plant-specific FYVE domain-containing protein FYVE4, known as a component of the Endosomal Sorting Complex Required for Transport III (ESCRT-III), is involved in membrane protein sorting. However, the mechanism by which FYVE4 orchestrates plant growth responses to environmental stress remains unclear. In this study, we revealed a novel function of FYVE4 in positively regulating plant salt resistance by manipulating the Salt Overly Sensitive (SOS) signaling pathway. FYVE4 influences SOS1 phosphorylation by promoting SOS1-SOS2 interactions during salt stress. Depletion of FYVE4 weakens the SOS1-SOS2 association, thereby leading to diminished SOS1 phosphorylation and enhanced sensitivity of plants to salt stress. Importantly, overexpression of SOS1 does not rescue salt sensitivity in fyve4-1, whereas SOS2 overexpression does. In summary, our research highlights the pivotal role of FYVE4 in enhancing SOS1-SOS2 interactions for alleviating salt stress and reveals a new aspect of its involvement in abiotic stress responses, extending beyond membrane trafficking regulation.

Keywords: ESCRT; FYVE4; SOS pathway; SOS1; SOS2; Salt stress.