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Calcium spikes, waves and oscillations in plant development and biotic interactions

Abstract

The calcium ion (Ca2+) is a universal signal in all eukaryotic cells. A fundamental question is how Ca2+, a simple cation, encodes complex information with high specificity. Extensive research has established a two-step process (encoding and decoding) that governs the specificity of Ca2+ signals. While the encoding mechanism entails a complex array of channels and transporters, the decoding process features a number of Ca2+ sensors and effectors that convert Ca2+ signals into cellular effects. Along this general paradigm, some signalling components may be highly conserved, but others are divergent among different organisms. In plant cells, Ca2+ participates in numerous signalling processes, and here we focus on the latest discoveries on Ca2+-encoding mechanisms in development and biotic interactions. In particular, we use examples such as polarized cell growth of pollen tube and root hair in which tip-focused Ca2+ oscillations specify the signalling events for rapid cell elongation. In plant–microbe interactions, Ca2+ spiking and oscillations hold the key to signalling specificity: while pathogens elicit cytoplasmic spiking, symbiotic microorganisms trigger nuclear Ca2+ oscillations. Herbivore attacks or mechanical wounding can trigger Ca2+ waves traveling a long distance to transmit and convert the local signal to a systemic defence program in the whole plant. What channels and transporters work together to carve out the spatial and temporal patterns of the Ca2+ fluctuations? This question has remained enigmatic for decades until recent studies uncovered Ca2+ channels that orchestrate specific Ca2+ signatures in each of these processes. Future work will further expand the toolkit for Ca2+-encoding mechanisms and place Ca2+ signalling steps into larger signalling networks.

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Fig. 1: Ca2+ channels required for tip growth of pollen tubes and root hairs.
Fig. 2: Plasma membrane Ca2+ channels encode PAMP-triggered Ca2+ spikes.
Fig. 3: Ca2+ channels and a Ca2+ pump coordinate to encode the nuclear Ca2+ oscillation for symbiosis.

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Acknowledgements

Research in authors’ laboratories is supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant YFD0300102-3 to L.L.), National Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 31930010 and 31872170 to L.L.), the National Science Foundation (grant 1714795 to S.L.), and a grant from the Innovative Genomics Institute of California (to S.L.). C.W. is supported by Tang Distinguished Scholarship, University of California at Berkeley.

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S.L. designed the outline of the manuscript. W.T., C.W. and S.L. with the help of Q.G. and L.L. wrote the manuscript. C.W. prepared the figures.

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Correspondence to Sheng Luan.

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Tian, W., Wang, C., Gao, Q. et al. Calcium spikes, waves and oscillations in plant development and biotic interactions. Nat. Plants 6, 750–759 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-020-0667-6

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