Review: Plants calcium signaling is both conserved and plant-specific
Plant Science Research WeeklyAlthough calcium ions are universal second messengers, plants employ both conserved and unique strategies to decode Ca²⁺ signals. In a new review in Cell, Sheng Luan reviews the molecular tools used to study calcium signaling in plants and the mechanisms that govern this process. Like other cells,…
Jasmonate signalling drives rapid local and systemic immunity establishment
Plant Science Research WeeklySystemic acquired resistance (SAR) provides plants with broad protection against many pathogens, but until recently, it was unclear how SAR signals are produced, transported, and expressed in distant tissues. In a new study in Nature Plants, Gaikwad and colleagues created a reporter construct that tracks…
Macro Plant Projection Imaging (MAPPI): An open, scalable platform for whole-plant fluorescence real-time imaging
Plant Science Research WeeklyThe bid to understand long distance Ca2+ signaling patterns in co-ordinating whole-plant responses to systemic or induced defense have been scarce in soil-grown plants mainly due to limitations of conventional microscopy. Macro Plant Projection Imaging (MAPPI), a real-time, low-cost, dual-view fluorescence…
Guanylate cyclase activity of TIR1/AFB auxin receptors in rapid auxin responses
Plant Science Research WeeklyAuxin is a pleiotropic plant hormone with diverse functions, many of which are mediated through transcriptional reprograming. However, some auxin responses occur extremely rapidly, ruling out changes in transcription as a mechanism. In 2022, one of the components of an auxin receptor, F-box protein TIR1/AFB,…
Listening to the whispers in the air: Plant eavesdropping in action
Plant Science Research WeeklyPlants release a variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including green leaf volatiles (GLVs), terpenoids, and amino acid derivatives, in response to herbivore damage and injury. Healthy neighboring plants detect these VOCs as warning signals, prompting them to activate defense mechanisms. This…
Long-distance turgor pressure changes induce local activation of plant glutamate receptor-like channels
Plant Science Research WeeklyFollowing wounding or herbivory, plants can rapidly transmit signals systemically (over long distances). These systemic signals are thought to enhance plant defenses by preparing distant tissues for imminent attack. Genetic studies have shown that the glutamate receptor-like calcium channel GLR3.3 (a…
The vacuolar H+/Ca transporter CAX1 participates in submergence and anoxia stress responses (Plant Physiol)
Plant Science Research WeeklyCalcium (Ca) signaling is one of the primary plant responses to confront abiotic stresses. To coordinate Ca levels in the different compartments of the cell, several transporters are needed including the H+/Ca exchangers (CAXs) in the tonoplast (vacuolar membrane). While the role of calcium signaling…
Always prepared: priming of the defense response by trichomes (Nature Comms)
Plant Science Research WeeklyRain contributes to plant disease. Rain can contain high concentrations of pathogens (like Pseudomonas, Xanthomonas, Alternaria, Fusarium sp., etc.), and high humidity associated with rain antagonizes stomatal closure, leaving open entry points for some pathogens. Matsumura and colleagues have demonstrated…
TT2 controls rice thermotolerance through SCT1-dependent alteration of wax biosynthesis (Nature Plants)
Plant Science Research WeeklyGlobal warming severely affects agricultural harvests, risking food security. To deal with heat stress, plants show different strategies. Indeed, heat increases intracellular Ca2+ levels to activate a heat shock response. In addition, GTP-binding proteins, which transduce extracellular signals to intracellular…