Transient MPK6 activation in response to oxygen deprivation and reoxygenation is mediated by mitochondria and aids seedling survival in Arabidopsis.

MPK6 shows transient increase in activity under hypoxia with maximal activity at 2 hrs. To study the role of MPK6 in hypoxia in Arabidopsis, 10 do seedlings of WT, mpk6 and MPK6 plants were exposed to 2 hrs hypoxia and 2hr air (mock). Because there are no major phenotypic differences between the genotypes, microarray was used to determine if there were transcript level differences between the genotypes. Wild type Col-0, MPK6 overexpression and mpk6 knockout mutants were exposed to 2 hr hypoxia and air and separated into root and shoot in order to determine the role of MPK6 in hypoxia in both root and shoot.