Calcium signals: the lead currency of plant information processing.
Ca(2+) signals are core transducers and regulators in many adaptation and developmental processes of plants. Ca(2+) signals are represented by stimulus-specific signatures that result from the concerted action of channels, pumps, and carriers that shape temporally and spatially defined Ca(2+) elevations. Cellular Ca(2+) signals are decoded and transmitted by a toolkit of Ca(2+) binding proteins that relay this information into downstream responses. Major transduction routes of Ca(2+) signaling involve Ca(2+)-regulated kinases mediating phosphorylation events that orchestrate downstream responses or comprise regulation of gene expression via Ca(2+)-regulated transcription factors and Ca(2+)-responsive promoter elements. Here, we review some of the remarkable progress that has been made in recent years, especially in identifying critical components functioning in Ca(2+) signal transduction, both at the single-cell and multicellular level. Despite impressive progress in our understanding of the processing of Ca(2+) signals during the past years, the elucidation of the exact mechanistic principles that underlie the specific recognition and conversion of the cellular Ca(2+) currency into defined changes in protein-protein interaction, protein phosphorylation, and gene expression and thereby establish the specificity in stimulus response coupling remain to be explored.
Kudla
Jörg
J
Institut für Botanik, Universität Münster, 48149 Münster, Germany. jkudla@uni-muenster.de
Batistic
Oliver
O
Hashimoto
Kenji
K
D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D020013:Calcium Signaling; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D010766:Phosphorylation; D055170:Plant Root Nodulation; D054046:Plant Stomata / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D015220:Calcium Channels; D014157:Transcription Factors; D002118:Calcium