Ca2+ signatures in symbiosis: Another level of dynamism for this key messenger

Abstract

Binci F, Offer E, Crosino A, Sciascia I, Kleine-Vehn J, Genre A, Giovannetti M, Navazio L. 2024. Spatially and temporally distinct Ca2+ changes in Lotus japonicus roots orient fungaltriggered signalling pathways towards symbiosis or immunity. Journal of Experimental Botany 75, 605 619. Ca2+, as a key secondary messenger, is known to be important in plant microbe interactions, and recent work has elucidated details of the role it plays in modulating symbiotic outcome. Using an aequorin-based calcium indicator, Binci et al. (2024) successfully quantified Ca2+ signaling in the cytoplasm and nucleus when Lotus japonicus plants were treated with different chitinderived fungal elicitors. Their study shows that fungal elicitors trigger biphasic Ca2+ signaling, which has previously been overlooked.