Entries by Pavithran Narayanan

Waves of information: Simultaneous imaging of ER and cytosolic Ca2+ dynamics reveals long distance ER Ca2+ waves in plants (Plant Physiol.)

June 11, 2021 in /by

Calcium (Ca2+) signaling regulates a host of stress and developmental responses in plants. Apart from increases in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]Cyt.), organellar signals play a key role in shaping the cytosolic signaling events. In an attempt to understand the Ca2+ dynamics in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Resentini and colleagues analyzed Ca2+ signaling simultaneously in the […]

Review: Auxin fluxes through plasmodesmata (New Phytol)

June 11, 2021 in /by

Plasmodesmata, the tubular connections that form continua between neighboring cells in plants, play vital roles in long-distance transport of ions, RNA, proteins, and small molecules. While it is known that plasmodesmata are permeable to phytohormones, including auxin, the physiological significance of plasmodesmata-mediated auxin transport remains underappreciated. Though carrier-mediated transport is considered to be the primary […]

Stretched by Stress: PIEZO1 is a mechanosensitive ion channel in Arabidopsis (PNAS)

May 28, 2021 in /by

Plants are constantly susceptible to mechanical stress and they have evolved intracellular signaling mechanisms to adapt to mechanical stimulation. Whilst it is known that ion channels activate signaling pathways in response to mechanical stress, only few of these mechanosensitive channels have been identified in plants. Here, Mousavi and colleagues characterized PIEZO1 (PZO1), a member of […]

Give and Take: Lipid exchanges drove the evolution of mutualism during plant terrestrialization (Science)

May 28, 2021 in /by

Plants form symbiotic associations with a variety of microbial partners, among which arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are prominent. AMF are known to enrich plants with a host of vital nutrients including the essential macronutrient phosphorus. While the finer details of plant-AMF association are known in angiosperms, those in bryophytes remain less well resolved. Rich and […]

Review: One cell, many signatures: Organellar Ca2+ signaling (Plant Physiol.)

May 14, 2021 in /by

Calcium ions (Ca2+) occupy a primary position in plant cell signaling processes by virtue of their role as the so-called second messengers. Ca2+ signaling underlies plant response to various abiotic, biotic and developmental cues. Whilst this Ca2+ signaling was thought to predominantly occur in the cytoplasm, recent studies have established its occurrence in many other […]

Trapped in traffic – redefining cellular responses to auxin pharmacology (Plant Physiol.)

April 30, 2021 in /by

Understanding cellular responses to the phytohormone auxin has always been a challenge and decades of work has constantly renewed our knowledge of the same. Here, Narasimhan and colleagues attempted to revisit and resolve the basis of differential action of naturally occurring auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and its synthetic analogue naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) in mediating […]

When fungi get ‘SCOOP’ed: MIK2 receptor kinase perceives SCOOP phytocytokines in Arabidopsis thaliana (Nature Comms)

February 12, 2021 in /by

Plant cells sense endogenous and exogenous molecules through proteins localized to the cell surface. While numerous ligands that mediate a variety of developmental and stress processes are known, cognate receptors for many ligands remain unidentified. Rhodes and colleagues have now shown the Arabidopsis thaliana leucine-rich receptor kinase MIK2 to be the receptor for the SCOOP […]

Cold translation: Ribosome-mediated translation inhibition senses cold stress in plants (bioRxiv)

January 22, 2021 in /by

A drop in ambient temperature adversely affects plant growth and development. While the primary molecular pathway in response to cold stress involves the expression of CBF transcription factors, Guillaume-Schöpfer and colleagues found cold stress-induced inhibition of ribosome translation machinery to control CBF expression. To start, the rate of protein synthesis was found to be proportional […]