Amino acid sensing and signaling in plants.
Bady S, Heinemann B, Hildebrandt TM
Plant Signaling
Every tomato you coax from poor soil, every houseplant you nurse back from overwatering, responds to amino acid signals that tell it whether to grow roots deeper or hunker down — understanding these signals is the foundation for growing stronger plants with less fertilizer.
Plants can 'taste' amino acids — the same nutrients found in proteins — and use them as messages about whether conditions are good enough to grow, fight off insects, or heal a wound. Special channels in plant cells translate these amino acid messages into calcium pulses, like a chemical morse code. A master growth-control switch, shared with animals but wired differently in plants, listens to these messages and decides how fast the plant should develop.
Key Findings
Glutamate receptor-like channels (GLRs) convert amino acid detection into calcium signals that guide root growth, wound healing, and immune responses.
Plant-specific regulators of the TOR kinase complex link amino acid availability to growth decisions, with tissue-specific roles and connections to hormone pathways.
Cysteine-dependent protein persulfidation — a chemical tagging of proteins — integrates sulfur nutrition with cellular redox state as a separate amino acid sensing layer.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Plants use amino acids not just as building blocks for proteins, but as chemical signals that tell the plant how well-fed it is, how fast to grow, and how to respond to injury or attack. This review maps out the key molecular systems plants use to sense and act on those signals.
Abstract Preview
Amino acids are central metabolic intermediates but they can also serve as metabolic signals conveying information on nutrient status, developmental state, and environmental conditions. This review...
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