A calcium-sensing protein controls plant growth, and warmth can override it
Cheng N, Rao X, Nakata PA
Plant Signaling
The next time an unexpected warm spell makes your stunted seedlings suddenly perk up, it might be more than just better weather, it could be your plant's internal calcium alarm system getting reset.
Plants use calcium as a kind of internal messaging system to coordinate growth, and this study pinpoints a protein called AtCBP60b as a key relay station in that system. Without it, a plant called Arabidopsis (a small relative of mustard greens used in labs) grows stunted leaves and a weak structure, and becomes overly sensitive to calcium shortages. Oddly, simply raising the temperature around these sickly plants reprograms their genes and rescues normal growth, showing that heat and calcium signaling are more connected than scientists realized.
Key Findings
AtCBP60b binds calmodulin (a calcium-sensing protein) and this binding is required for it to regulate genes controlling calcium balance, defense, and growth
Loss of AtCBP60b function impairs seedling growth, leaf development, and overall plant architecture, and causes hypersensitivity to calcium deficiency
Elevated growth temperatures rescue the growth and developmental defects in AtCBP60b mutant plants by reprogramming gene transcription
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists found a specific protein in a plant's cells acts like a master switch for calcium signaling, controlling everything from seedling growth to how leaves develop. When this protein is missing, plants get sick and stunted, but simply growing them in warmer temperatures can fix the problem.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
A plant-specific calmodulin-binding protein, AtCBP60b, mediates Ca2+ dynamics and signaling responses and is critical for plant growth and development in a temperature-dependent manner.
Calcium (Ca2+) is an essential mineral nutrient and a vital signaling molecule for plant growth and development. Ca2+/calmodulins (CaMs) can bind proteins, called CaM-binding proteins (CBPs), to re...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Gene editing removes 97% of celiac-triggering proteins from bread wheat
It could mean that people with celiac disease — roughly 1 in 100 worldwide — may one day safely eat bread made from real wheat, without sacrificing the taste...
Arabidopsis (rockcress) is a genus of small flowering plants in the cabbage and mustard family, Brassicaceae. Arabidopsis species are native to temperate and subarctic Eurasia and North America, North Africa, and the mountains of eastern tropical Africa. This genus is of great interest since it c...