One arrow—two targets: Dual role of ETHYLENE INSENSITIVE2-like protein in osmostress and submergence tolerance

Plants are highly responsive to the water in their surrounding environment.Different plant species have their sweet spot for the water they need, which is a construct of thousands of years of evolution, and positive and negative deviations from that sweet spot are undesirable for a plant.At first glance, dehydration and submergence in water are considered two contrasting water stresses; yet, they have overlapping consequences for plant function and survival (Chen et al., 2023).As an example, we can consider the two most common responses to these stresses.In response to dehydration, plants close their stomata to limit water loss, which in turn reduces the photosynthesis rate due to a reduction in CO2 intake.When plant roots are submerged in water, they cannot access enough oxygen, which triggers a transition from aerobic to anaerobic root metabolism.This shift in metabolism results in changes in plant metabolic activity and can even lead to root decay (Colmer et al., 2014).These two different responses to