Calcium Signaling and the Response to Heat Shock in Crop Plants
Xinmiao Kang, Liqun Zhao, Xiaotong Liu- Inorganic Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Computer Science Applications
- Spectroscopy
- Molecular Biology
- General Medicine
- Catalysis
Climate change and the increasing frequency of high temperature (HT) events are significant threats to global crop yields. To address this, a comprehensive understanding of how plants respond to heat shock (HS) is essential. Signaling pathways involving calcium (Ca2+), a versatile second messenger in plants, encode information through temporal and spatial variations in ion concentration. Ca2+ is detected by Ca2+-sensing effectors, including channels and binding proteins, which trigger specific cellular responses. At elevated temperatures, the cytosolic concentration of Ca2+ in plant cells increases rapidly, making Ca2+ signals the earliest response to HS. In this review, we discuss the crucial role of Ca2+ signaling in raising plant thermotolerance, and we explore its multifaceted contributions to various aspects of the plant HS response (HSR).