Opinion: Rapid responses to abiotic stress (TIPS)

Several recent studies have demonstrated that plants are able to respond to environmental challenges within minutes, through electrical signals, calcium oscillations, hydraulic changes, metabolites such as glutamate, and reactive oxygen species. Kollist et al. review studies of rapid responses that control stomatal aperture as well those leading to systemic signalling and acclimation.  Although transcriptomic studies for very early timepoints after stress are rare, there are intriguing reports of cyclic pulses in gene expression that might contribute to acclimation. As the authors observe, our understanding of these rapid responses is still quite limited, but have the potential to identify new tools and strategies for developing stress resilient plants. (Summary by Mary Williams) Trends Plant Sci. 10.1016/j.tplants.2018.10.003