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Calcium signaling and reactive oxygen species signaling are directly connected, and both contribute to cell-to-cell signal propagation in plants.

Techniques to detect and verify interactions between proteins in vivo have become invaluable tools in functional genomic research. While many of the initially developed interaction assays (e.g., yeast two-hybrid system and split-ubiquitin assay) usually are conducted in heterologous systems, assays relying on bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC; also referred to as split-YFP assays) are applicable to the analysis of protein-protein interactions in most native systems, including plant cells. Like all protein-protein interaction assays, BiFC can produce false positive and false negative results. The purpose of this commentary is to (1) highlight shortcomings of and potential pitfalls in BiFC assays, (2) provide guidelines for avoiding artifactual interactions, and (3) suggest suitable approaches to scrutinize potential interactions and validate them by independent methods.

Breeding of crops over millennia for yield and productivity1 has led to reduced genetic diversity. As a result, beneficial traits of wild species, such as disease resistance and stress tolerance, have been lost2. We devised a CRISPR–Cas9 genome engineering strategy to combine agronomically desirable traits with useful traits present in wild lines. We report that editing of six loci that are important for yield and productivity in present-day tomato crop lines enabled de novo domestication of wild Solanum pimpinellifolium. Engineered S. pimpinellifolium morphology was altered, together with the size, number and nutritional value of the fruits. Compared with the wild parent, our engineered lines have a threefold increase in fruit size and a tenfold increase in fruit number. Notably, fruit lycopene accumulation is improved by 500% compared with the widely cultivated S. lycopersicum. Our results pave the way for molecular breeding programs to exploit the genetic diversity present in wild plants.

Calcium serves as a versatile messenger in many adaptation and developmental processes in plants. Cellular calcium signals are detected and transmitted by calcium-binding proteins functioning as sensor molecules. The family of calcineurin B-like (CBL) proteins represents a unique group of calcium sensors and contributes to the decoding of calcium transients by interacting with and regulating the family of CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs). In higher plants, CBL proteins and CIPKs form a complex signaling network that allows for flexible but specific signal–response coupling during environmental adaptation reactions. This review presents novel findings concerning the evolution of this signaling network and key insights into the physiological function of CBL–CIPK complexes. These aspects will be presented and discussed in the context of emerging functional principles governing efficient and specific information processing in this signaling system.

Ca²⁺ signals are core transducers and regulators in many adaptation and developmental processes of plants. Ca²⁺ signals are represented by stimulus-specific signatures that result from the concerted action of channels, pumps, and carriers that shape temporally and spatially defined Ca²⁺ elevations. Cellular Ca²⁺ signals are decoded and transmitted by a toolkit of Ca²⁺ binding proteins that relay this information into downstream responses. Major transduction routes of Ca²⁺ signaling involve Ca²⁺-regulated kinases mediating phosphorylation events that orchestrate downstream responses or comprise regulation of gene expression via Ca²⁺-regulated transcription factors and Ca²⁺-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 Ca²⁺ signal transduction, both at the single-cell and multicellular level. Despite impressive progress in our understanding of the processing of Ca²⁺ signals during the past years, the elucidation of the exact mechanistic principles that underlie the specific recognition and conversion of the cellular Ca²⁺ 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.

Temporally and spatially defined changes in Ca2+ concentration in distinct compartments of cells represent a universal information code in plants. Recently, it has become evident that Ca2+ signals not only govern intracellular regulation but also appear to contribute to long distance or even organismic signal propagation and physiological response regulation. Ca2+ signals are shaped by an intimate interplay of channels and transporters, and during past years important contributing individual components have been identified and characterized. Ca2+ signals are translated by an elaborate toolkit of Ca2+-binding proteins, many of which function as Ca2+ sensors, into defined downstream responses. Intriguing progress has been achieved in identifying specific modules that interconnect Ca2+ decoding proteins and protein kinases with downstream target effectors, and in characterizing molecular details of these processes. In this review, we reflect on recent major advances in our understanding of Ca2+ signaling and cover emerging concepts and existing open questions that should be informative also for scientists that are currently entering this field of ever-increasing breath and impact.

To survive in an ever-changing environment, plants must control their cellular ion homeostasis tightly. In this regard, Ca2+ signaling represents a central motif inherent to numerous pathways controlling this process Abstract Soil composition largely defines the living conditions of plants and represents one of their most relevant, dynamic, and complex environmental cues. The effective concentrations of many either tolerated or essential ions and compounds in the soil usually differ from the optimum that would be most suitable for plants. In this regard, salinity-caused by excess NaCl-represents a widespread adverse growth condition, but shortage of ions such as K+, NO3−, and Fe2+ also restrains plant growth. During the past years, many components and mechanisms that function in the sensing and establishment of ion homeostasis have been identified and characterized. Here, we reflect on recent insights that extended our understanding of components and mechanisms which govern and fine-tune plant salt stress tolerance and ion homeostasis. We put special emphasis on mechanisms that allow for interconnection of the salt overly sensitive pathway with plant development and discuss newly emerging functions of Ca2+ signaling in salinity tolerance. Moreover, we review and discuss accumulating evidence for a central and unifying role for Ca2+ signaling and Ca2+-dependent protein phosphorylation in regulating sensing, uptake, transport, and storage processes of various ions. Finally, based on this cross-field inventory, we deduce emerging concepts and questions arising for future research.

Calcium signals occur in specific spatio-temporal patterns in response to various stimuli and are coordinated with, for example, hormonal signals, for physiological and developmental adaptations. Quantification of calcium together with other signalling molecules is required for correlative analyses and to decipher downstream calcium-decoding mechanisms. Simultaneous in vivo imaging of calcium and abscisic acid has been performed here to investigate the interdependence of the respective signalling processes in Arabidopsis thaliana roots. Advanced ratiometric genetically encoded calcium indicators have been generated and in vivo calcium calibration protocols were established to determine absolute calcium concentration changes in response to auxin and ATP. In roots, abscisic acid induced long-term basal calcium concentration increases, while auxin triggered rapid signals in the elongation zone. The advanced ratiometric calcium indicator R-GECO1-mTurquoise exhibited an increased calcium signal resolution compared to commonly used Förster resonance energy transfer-based indicators. Quantitative calcium measurements in Arabidopsis root tips using R-GECO1-mTurquoise revealed detailed maps of absolute calcium concentration changes in response to auxin and ATP. Calcium calibration protocols using R-GECO1-mTurquoise enabled high-resolution quantitative imaging of resting cytosolic calcium concentrations and their dynamic changes that revealed distinct hormonal and ATP responses in roots.

Arabidopsis thaliana calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) interact specifically with a group of CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs). CBL/CIPK complexes phosphorylate target proteins at the plasma membrane. Here, we report that dual lipid modification is required for CBL1 function and for localization of this calcium sensor at the plasma membrane. First, myristoylation targets CBL1 to the endoplasmic reticulum. Second, S-acylation is crucial for endoplasmic reticulum-to-plasma membrane trafficking via a novel cellular targeting pathway that is insensitive to brefeldin A. We found that a 12-amino acid peptide of CBL1 is sufficient to mediate dual lipid modification and to confer plasma membrane targeting. Moreover, the lipid modification status of the calcium sensor moiety determines the cellular localization of preassembled CBL/CIPK complexes. Our findings demonstrate the importance of S-acylation for regulating the spatial accuracy of Ca²⁺-decoding proteins and suggest a novel mechanism that enables the functional specificity of calcium sensor/kinase complexes.

In animal cells, phospholipase C (PLC) isoforms predominantly hydrolyze phosphatidylinositol-4,5-biphosphates [PtdIns(4,5)P2] into the second messengers diacylglycerol (DAG) and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate [Ins(1,4,5)P3] to regulate diverse biological processes. By contrast, the molecular mechanisms and physiological significance of PLC signaling in plants still awaits full elucidation. Here, we identified a rice (Oryza sativa cv) PI-PLC, OsPLC1, which preferred to hydrolyze phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PtdIns4P) and elicited stress-induced Ca2+ signals regulating salt tolerance. Analysis by ion chromatography revealed that the concentration of PtdIns4P was c. 28 times of that of PtdIns(4,5)P2 in shoots. OsPLC1 not only converted PtdIns(4,5)P2 but also – and even more efficiently – converted PtdIns4P into DAG and Ins(1,4,5)P3 in vitro and in vivo. Salt stress induced the recruitment of OsPLC1 from cytoplasm to plasma membrane, where it hydrolyzed PtdIns4P. The stress-induced Ca2+ signaling was dependent on OsPLC1, and the PLC-mediated Ca2+ signaling was essential for controlling Na+ accumulation in leaf blades, thus establishing whole plant salt tolerance. Our work identifies a conversion pathway and physiological function for PtdIns4P pools in rice and reveals the connection between phosphoinositides and Ca2+ signals mediated by PLC during salt stress responses.