Calcium channel in plants helps shut the door on intruders

Yoshioka, Keiko; Moeder, Wolfgang

doi:10.1038/d41586-020-02504-0

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07 September 2020

Calcium channel in plants helps shut the door on intruders

Disease-causing microorganisms can invade plants through leaf pores called stomata, which close rapidly in a calcium-dependent manner on detecting such danger. The calcium channels involved have now finally been identified.

Keiko Yoshioka⁰ &
Wolfgang Moeder¹

Keiko Yoshioka
1. Keiko Yoshioka is in the Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3B2, Canada.
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Wolfgang Moeder
1. Wolfgang Moeder is in the Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto M5S 3B2, Canada.
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In plants, calcium ions (Ca²⁺) function as a central signal for diverse stimuli, ranging from internal developmental cues to physical or biological stresses such as infection. However, the transient nature of Ca²⁺ signals and the enigmatic identities of plant Ca²⁺ channels have made the role of these ions difficult to study. Moreover, the connection between Ca²⁺ channels and specific plant responses is often unclear. Writing in Nature, Thor et al.¹ now clarify one such connection, and report their finding of a type of Ca²⁺ channel that is activated during a specific response against infection.

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Nature 585, 507-508 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02504-0

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