Review: The evolution of calcium-based signalling in plants

Calcium signalling is a ubiquitous process in plants and other organisms. Transporters at the plasma and vacuolar (tonoplast) membranes control entry and exit of calcium ion into the cytoplasm, and it is the cytoplasmic calcium level ([Ca²⁺]_cyt) that affects cellular responses, as calcium-binding proteins alter their activities or binding properties in response to changing calcium levels. Edel et al. review the diversity and distribution of various components of the calcium-based signalling process in plants as compared to animals, and speculate as to the forces that have shaped it in plants, including photosynthesis. Curr. Biol. 10.1016/j.cub.2017.05.020