Skip Navigation



AOBPreview published online on April 21, 2005
Annals of Botany, doi:10.1093/aob/mci144
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
96/1/1    most recent
mci144v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by PLIETH, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by PLIETH, C.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by PLIETH, C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org
Received November 1, 2004
Revised December 7, 2004
Accepted March 1, 2005

Botanical Briefing

Calcium: Just Another Regulator in the Machinery of Life?

CHRISTOPH PLIETH 1*

1 Zentrum für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie, Universität Kiel, Am Botanischen Garten 9, 24118 Kiel, Germany

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
CHRISTOPH PLIETH, E-mail: cplieth{at}zbm.uni-kiel.de


  Abstract

• Background Current hypotheses imply that stimulus-response systems in plants are networks of signal transduction pathways. It is usually assumed that these pathways connect receptors with effectors via chains of molecular events. Diverse intermediate signalling components (transducers) participate in these processes. However, many cellular transducers respond to several stimuli. Hence, there are no discrete chains but rather pathways that interconnect network-modules of different command structure. In particular, the cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]cyt) is thought to perform many different tasks in a wide range of cellular events. However, this range of putative functions is so wide that it is often questioned how Ca2+ can comply with the definition of a second messenger.

• The Ca2+ Signature Hypothesis Some authors have suggested the concept of a specific signature of the ([Ca2+]cyt) response. This implies that characteristics of the time course of changes in ([Ca2+]cyt) and their localized sites of appearance in cells are used by the plant to identify the type and intensity of the stimulus. This hypothesis has triggered many investigations, which have yielded contradictory results.

• The Current Picture Much evidence suggests that the functions of calcium can be grouped into three classes: Ca2+ as a protective agent, Ca2+ as a chemical switch and Ca2+ as a ‘digital’ information carrier. Examples of the first two classes are presented here. The third is more controversial; while some investigations seem to support this idea, others call the Ca2+ signature hypothesis into question. Further investigations are needed to shed more light on Ca2+-driven signalling cascades.

Keywords: Action potential, aequorin, calcium signature, cameleon, clomeleon, guard cells, information-encoding, salt-stress.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Plant CellHome page
G. Leitz, B.-H. Kang, M. E.A. Schoenwaelder, and L. A. Staehelin
Statolith Sedimentation Kinetics and Force Transduction to the Cortical Endoplasmic Reticulum in Gravity-Sensing Arabidopsis Columella Cells
PLANT CELL, March 1, 2009; 21(3): 843 - 860.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant Physiol.Home page
M. Toyota, T. Furuichi, H. Tatsumi, and M. Sokabe
Cytoplasmic Calcium Increases in Response to Changes in the Gravity Vector in Hypocotyls and Petioles of Arabidopsis Seedlings
Plant Physiology, February 1, 2008; 146(2): 505 - 514.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
L. V. A. Pinto, E. A. A. Da silva, A. C. Davide, V. A. M. De Jesus, P. E. Toorop, and H. W. M. Hilhorst
Mechanism and Control of Solanum lycocarpum Seed Germination
Ann. Bot., November 1, 2007; 100(6): 1175 - 1187.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
E. A. A. da Silva, D. L. B. de Melo, A. C. Davide, N. de Bode, G. B. Abreu, J. M. R. Faria, and H. W. M. Hilhorst
Germination Ecophysiology of Annona crassiflora Seeds
Ann. Bot., May 1, 2007; 99(5): 823 - 830.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
B. Singla, A. Chugh, J. P. Khurana, and P. Khurana
An early auxin-responsive Aux/IAA gene from wheat (Triticum aestivum) is induced by epibrassinolide and differentially regulated by light and calcium
J. Exp. Bot., December 1, 2006; 57(15): 4059 - 4070.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
B. BHARALI and J. W. BATES
Detoxification of Dissolved SO2 (Bisulfite) by Terricolous Mosses
Ann. Bot., February 1, 2006; 97(2): 257 - 263.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

E-letters:

Read all E-letters

Circadian Calcium Oscillations and Reactive Oxygen Species
Alex AR Webb
Annals of Botany, 27 Feb 2006 [Full text]

Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.